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Memories of the City

The documentary explores Fazenda Pilão D’Água, in the countryside of São Paulo, as a territory shaped by memory, silence, and resistance. Through oral testimonies, historical traces, and community memory, the film reveals the marks left by Afro-Brazilian ancestry in the region and the enduring legacy of this presence within Quilombo do Jaó. Between ruins, voices, and remembrance, the documentary follows the struggle to keep alive a history that resists erasure and continues to inhabit both the land and its people.

  • Adriano Rafael Vaz
    Director
  • Adriano Rafael Vaz
    Writer
  • Adriano Rafael Vaz
    Producer
  • Eliana Alves Cruz
    Key Cast
  • Silvia Corrêa Marques
    Key Cast
  • Silvio Araújo
    Key Cast
  • Isabel Regina dos Reis
    Key Cast
  • Maria Clara Holtz
    Key Cast
  • Wilmar Hailton de Mattos
    Key Cast
  • Deise Lima
    Key Cast
  • Kemilyn Martins
    Key Cast
  • Telma Yurico Higuchi
    Diretor de Fotografia
  • Teresa Cristina Fontoura Bongiovanni
    Colaboração
  • Silvia Corrêa Marques
    Colaboração
  • Hamilton da Silva Ramos
    Montagem e Edição
  • Luciele Martins Soares Fogaça
    Produção
  • Isabel Regina dos Reis
    Produção
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    Memórias da cidade
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Experimental, Student, Television
  • Genres:
    Documentary
  • Runtime:
    31 minutes 33 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    August 21, 2025
  • Production Budget:
    5,000 BRL
  • Country of Origin:
    Brazil
  • Country of Filming:
    Brazil
  • Language:
    Portuguese
  • Shooting Format:
    DIGITAL
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Digital Cinema Package:
    Unavailable
  • Lançamento
    Itapeva
    Brazil
    November 7, 2025
    Quilombo do Jaó
    Exibição especial
  • Tv Unesp/Tv Cultura
    São Paulo
    November 10, 2025
    Estreia na televisão
    Tv aberta
Distribution Information
  • Adriano Vaz
    Sales Agent
    Country: Brazil
    Rights: All Rights, Internet, Free TV
Director Biography - Adriano Rafael Vaz

Adriano Vaz is a Brazilian filmmaker and screenwriter officially recognized by ANCINE (National Cinema Agency) as both a director and producer. Based in Itapeva, in the southwest region of the state of São Paulo, his work blends rigorous field research with an artistic approach that prioritizes human presence and emotional authenticity. His perspective is deeply shaped by his personal experience and engagement within his territory—navigating the cultural complexities of indigenous tribes, maroon communities (quilombolas), landless rural workers (assentados sem terra), agribusiness entrepreneurs, and the striking natural landscapes of the Canyons Paulistas.

He has extensive experience managing cultural projects in collaboration with public institutions and independent initiatives, developing narratives deeply rooted in oral history, ancestry, and the lives of communities marginalized by official records.

His documentary Memórias da Cidade (2025) marks a significant step in his filmmaking career. The film explores belonging and Afro-Brazilian identity through the histories of Fazenda Pilão D’Água and Quilombo do Jaó. Driven by oral testimonies and deep community engagement, the project achieved prominent academic validation by becoming an official object of study at SOCINE (Brazilian Society of Cinema and Audiovisual Studies).

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Director Statement

Memories of the City was born from a feeling of urgency — the realization that some memories survive only as long as there are people willing to carry them forward. While exploring the history of Fazenda Pilão D’Água, I understood that the past of Itapeva is not preserved only in archives or ruins, but in the voices, gestures, and memories of those who continue to live in relationship with this territory.

As I listened to residents, descendants, and members of Quilombo do Jaó, the film gradually became less about recovering historical facts and more about revealing the human presence that still inhabits these spaces. What moved me most was not only the silence left by historical erasure, but the persistence of memory despite it.

My intention with this documentary was not simply to record the past, but to create a space where these memories could continue to exist with dignity, visibility, and humanity. Memórias da Cidade is, above all, a film about belonging — about the traces people leave on a place, and the way a place continues to live within people.