Here is an astonishing work of survival and resilience from Joana Pimenta and Adirley Queirós; their docufiction film packs a pulpy punch, yet is also rooted in an urgent political reality. Informed by the 2018 Brazilian general election, this combustible portrait of life on the margins is an engrossing, volatile ride through Sol Nascente, a crime-ridden slum on the outskirts of Brasília.
Sharing their names with their characters, nonprofessional locals Chitara and Léa are cast as swaggering half-sisters who watch over a formidable all-female gang. The women steal oil from an underground pipeline and sell the black gold to a motorcycle squad; they create a fortress of their own, rebelling against the disenfranchisement that breeds under the authoritarian government. While their nocturnal escapades offer the visceral thrills of a gangster film, real life is also intimately woven into the narrative. Like her character, Léa is also freshly out of prison, the threat of incarceration still haunting her every footstep.
