Nefarious: Merchant of Souls
"Nefarious" was written, directed, produced and narrated by Benjamin Nolot, founder and president of Exodus Cry, the film's distributor. Nolot, who travelled to 19 countries to collect the film's content, said that the purpose of the film is "to draw people's attention to the issue, but also to inspire them in terms of what they can be doing … to take a stand against this injustice." The film was officially released on July 27, 2011, with individual grassroots screenings also taking place. Laila Mickelwait, Exodus Cry's director of awareness and prevention, screened the film in several countries in an attempt to persuade governments to make laws similar to Sweden's "Sex Purchase Act", which criminalizes the purchasing rather than the selling of sex. The film was released on home video on May 1, 2012.
Neighboring Sounds
"Neighboring Sounds" is the first fiction feature film from director Kleber Mendonça Filho, who had previously directed the documentary "Critical". Recife and Zona da Mata in Pernambuco serve as a backdrop for the dialogue of the actors, being recorded in July and August 2010 for 6 weeks and 3 days. The period of editing the film took two years to complete, and also a long time to hit Brazilian theaters, just released nationally on January 4, 2013, with distribution by Vitrine Filmes. Written in 2008, the screenplay was awarded by the Hubert Bals Fund, from Rotterdam Film Festival, where the film made its world premiere. The screenplay was also awarded in bidding by Petrobras and the Government of Pernambuco.