João Paulo Jabur
In 1988, the disappearance of a young girl shocks the population of little Brígida, in the interior of southern Brazil, resulting in the banning of pagan festivities of Ivana Kupala. Thirty years later, the city is preparing to bring the party back, but terrifying events, along with the dangerous ritual of transmigration of souls, unsettle the community and bring to light the secrets of a crime that ties three families’ destinies through time.
Maria, a virgin spinster, is trying magical superstitions to find a husband. In her dialogue with the marriage saint, she implores for a companion. Her father offered her as a bride to Saint Djalminha, if the saint saved her during her complicated birth which ended in the death of her mother. Since then Maria has lived this dilemma: revered and loved by the residents and pilgrims that believe she is a miracle worker; she is desperate to live a great love, with a flesh and blood prospect with real passionate desire. She asks for a sign from the heavens, a clue on how to find a crumb of love when a gypsy arrives on scene saying "someone who loves her very much, but she doesn't know will come from afar on an artists' caravan." Maria can't take the solitude she is living anymore and decides "to find Mr. Right," no matter how much it may cost.
A moving tale of courage and resilience in the struggle for freedom – this is the role that life has cast for headstrong Morena in Brave Woman. Raised in a poor neighborhood in the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro, this tough and humble woman will spare no effort to protect her family and gain her independence.
