Grace Passô Debuts Award Winning Film Nosso Segredo

Grace Passô has released her first feature film as a director, titled Nosso Segredo, which was crowned the best film at the Festival de Gramado. The movie previously premiered in February at a showcase of the Berlin Festival and is now playing in cinemas across Brazil. The plot follows a family consisting of a mother, an aunt, and four children, including nine year old Tutu. The story begins with the revelation that the father, who was the only white person in the household, recently died.

Passô uses elements of terror and the fantastic to explore themes of grief and trauma. The film depicts a tense atmosphere where supernatural occurrences, such as mud running down walls and a molding ceiling, mirror the emotional state of the characters. Passô stated that she uses these fantastic elements as a strategy to treat complex subjects visually and emotionally, avoiding the didactism sometimes found in films addressing race, class, or gender. She noted that while Black cinema once focused primarily on racism and violence, there is now a desire to abstract those subjects into feelings.

Passô, who is 46, has an extensive background as an actress and playwright. During the event, actor Selton Mello described her as one of the greatest actresses he has ever seen. The film incorporates political reflections on the daily lives of the working class and the historical survival of Black families through affection in the face of colonial tragedy.