bagadefente

In this short film made of a single sequence shot, a man drives through the city streets, talking on the phone while trying to find a way to move forward, but the past is a restless passenger.

Developed from footage filmed during a road trip between São Paulo and Caraíva at the turn of 2008 to 2009, "coração-PALAVRA" grows from a domestic record into an essay film about memory, time, and plural forms of fatherhood. Drawing on a home archive accumulated over nearly two decades, the film moves between past and present to explore what endures and what changes in relationships between fathers and sons.

During an audio message sent to his daughter, a father reflects on how the recent discovery of dusty reels and scratchy VHS tapes capturing childhood moments has propelled him on a journey of ancient memories and forgotten dreams . Using a blend of personal, public domain, and freely available footage, the film deconstructs reality and reimagines the past, questioning where memory ends and imagination begins.

​​The film begins with the implementation of the Paulo Gustavo Law in São Manuel, a town of 40,000 residents in the countryside of São Paulo, to open a broader conversation: what happens when public funding reaches the cultural sector? And why is there still so much resistance to that? Through interviews with funded artists, cultural managers, policymakers, and spontaneous conversations with local residents, the film reveals a reality that goes beyond the borders of a single town, drawing a wider picture of the relationship between art, public policy, and everyday life. The documentary features historian Célio Turino, creator of the Pontos de Cultura program, and congresswoman Jandira Feghali, rapporteur of the Aldir Blanc Law. The screenplay is co-written by Turino and director bagadefente.