João Cabral de Melo Neto

The Brazilian poem 'Morte e Vida Severina', a masterpiece of João Cabral de Melo Neto, comes to life in an animated version directed by Afonso Serpa.

Luís Medeiros, Azorean painter, meets two odd characters in an exhibit in Lisbon: Inês, a charming woman, and Ed, a sneaky man. The two reveal to have with them a precious document that might be threatening to Luís. He brings them back home but his serenity is over due to an unexpected chain of events.

The story of Severino, a man who tries to escape the misery and the drought prevailing in the rural backcountry of the Northeast of Brazil. He heads for Recife, passing through desert and forest regions, expecting to find a better life.