BALOMANIA
Denmark, Spain 2024.
93 minutes
directed by: Sissel Morell Dargis
Brazil, favela labyrinths filled with secrets, huge paintings floating in the night sky! An intimate story and a personal fascination grow into a search and at the same time into a stunning defense and praise of an unrecognized art. This exciting, brilliant film became a global hit in a flash and amazed countless world festivals after its world premiere in Copenhagen.
A Danish girl enters favelas of São Paulo to discover real people behind the well-known legend of secret brotherhoods of persecuted and elusive urban heroes - the baloeiros! The film was shot for more than a decade, and the young Danish director undertook an uncertain and lengthy search to reach her protagonists and to gain their trust in the conditions of constant police threats and persecution. From the poor districts of the big Brazilian cities secretly, in specially organized expeditions, large, mysterious packages are taken to the nearby forests, to the hills and before our eyes they turn into huge floating objects lit by the flickering light of the fire, then in an instant they rise into the sky, leaving us breathless. Huge dream-like balloons sail across the vast expanse of the sky, testifying to everyone that baloeiros exist, that once again they defeated repression and the system! Completely mesmerized, without taking their eyes off the sky, another group of devotees chases balloons for kilometers - they are enthusiastic admirers, balloon hunters, who accept their prey as the greatest treasure far from the place where they took off. Many of them are dreaming of becoming baloeiros themselves. The Danish author, thanks to her dedication and openness to understand this phenomenon, allows us to witness an unusual rebellion. Ballons painted in the manner of a naive artistic expression carry icons of popular culture imbued with ancient tradition. They convey messages of the spirit of freedom and beauty of the oppressed souls, trapped by misery, bringing them joy and filling them with pride!
A magnificent cinematic adventure!
Born in Copenhagen, Denmark in 1992 to Lithuanian and Spanish parents. She has lived in several Latin American countries and spent the longest time in Brazil, where she studied multimedia and communication in São Paulo. She also worked as a freelance photographer, and at the age of 19 started a social project for young people in the Rocinha favela in Rio de Janeiro, using art and cross-media tools to campaign for social changes. In 2018 she graduated documentary filmmaking from EICTV in Cuba. She trained as a game and animation director from The National Film School of Denmark, where she graduated with the indie game Cai Cai Balão, set in Brazil's secret world of hot air balloon makers. The game was nominated for 'Best Student Game' at IGF 2022 and exhibited at the Smithsonian American Arts Museum as part of SAAM Arcade, and has recently won Best Game and Best Impact Game at Games of Change, and exhibited at Copenhagen Gaming Week 2024.
