São Paulo (Brazil), 1960

By Luiz Felipe Alves de Miranda

Márcia Lelis de Souza (Tata) Amaral, a filmmaker and talented representative of her generation, debuted in 1986 with two short films produced in collaboration with Francisco César Filho: Poema: Cidade, based on the poetry of Augusto de Campos, and Queremos Ondas do Mar. She went on to direct two other short films, História Familiar (1988) and Viver a Vida (1991). Her first feature film, Um Céu de Estrelas (1996), set in the outskirts of São Paulo, delves into the anatomy of a conflict between former lovers. Her second feature, Através da Janela (2000), portrays the stifling relationship between a mother and her only son. In 2011, Tata Amaral directed Hoje, inspired by the book Prova Contrária by Fernando Bonassi. The film won the 44th Brasília Film Festival.