Berenice

Berenice is a crime drama based on Luiz Alfredo Garcia Roza´s namesake novel.
Berenice is a 35 year old woman committed to her work as a taxi driver in Rio de Janeiro.
Her profession consumes most of her days, and the little time she has off she spends raising her son, Thiago, a teenager in search of his sexual identity, and dealing with her turbulent marriage to 45 years old crime reporter Domingos. The weary relationship, worn out by her husband’s violent outburst, have erased all signs of Berenice’s femininity and voided her life of any meaning. The murder of Isabelle, a beautiful transgender woman, at Copacabana Beach sparks her investigative instincts and changes her life forever.

  • Allan Fiterman
    Director
  • Flávia Guimarães
    Writer
  • José Carvalho
    Writer
  • Elisa Tolomelli
    Producer
    “Central Station” and “City of God”
  • Claudia Abreu
    Key Cast
  • Eduardo Moscovis
    Key Cast
  • Vera Holtz
    Key Cast
  • Valentina Sampaio
    Key Cast
  • Emilio Dantas
    Key Cast
  • Project Type:
    Feature
  • Genres:
    Drama, Crime, Lgbtq
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 28 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    September 28, 2017
  • Production Budget:
    1,500,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Brazil
  • Country of Filming:
    Brazil
  • Language:
    Portuguese
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    scope
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Distribution Information
  • H2O Films
    Country: Brazil
    Rights: All Rights
Director Biography - Allan Fiterman

Allan Fiterman has left São Paulo, Brazil at the age of 24 to pursue his dream of becoming a filmmaker. Allan graduated with an M.F.A in Film Production, from Chapman University. Fiterman's talent was recognized with a Best Producer Cecil award the year he graduated, and by accepting the Ron Thorson Distinguished Alumnus 2006 award. While teaching directing and cinematography classes at the New York Film Academy in Los Angeles, Allan Fiterman joined Rover Films to coproduce, direct and shoot the independent feature "Living The Dream", with Sean Young, Larry Drake, and Danny Trejo.
Following the completion of "Living The Dream", Fiterman returned to Brazil to direct 4 independent features: ”living the dream, “now boarding”, “Berenice” and “Pixinguinha”. In 2008, Allan signed with TV Globo. Since then, he has been directing series for TV, winning 2 International Emmy awards in 2011/16.

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Director Statement

When I started the making of Berenice, I knew I didn´t want to just do another crime drama.
I envisioned something else. I saw the possibility to talk about relationships, human beings, emotions and the conflict between liberty and imprisonment regarding sexual identity.
To tell this story I couldn’t hold on to esthetic standards. I surrounded myself with a creative and young crew, building at times a theatrical and kaleidoscopic backstage environment, at times a tough and dark side of real life.
The narrative had to show the characters freedom to go in search of their happiness. It had to be fluid, not tied up in time.
It´s my intention to invite the public to dive in the confusing turmoil of emotions, colours, music, feathers and to feel part of the plot.
I believe Berenice has the potential to be in the main national and international festivals for its current themes, touching performances and accurate production.