“I will not be interrupted, I will have to put up with black, trans, lesbian women, occupying a variety of spaces.” Mariel Franco’s voice echoes in the film written by Lilian Mutti and Daniela Ramaglio, which will be screened on Thursday, February 29 in Lausanne, Switzerland, opening an exhibition that will pay tribute to Mariel Franco, her struggle, trajectory and legacy. The exhibition, promoted by the association Le Renversé, aims to promote the exchange of cultures between the two countries, Brazil and Switzerland, through cinema.
“El, Mariel Franco” is an essay film told in first-person audio of Mariel Franco’s parents and herself, as excerpted from her inauguration speech as councilor of Rio de Janeiro; . In a short time, Mariel’s voice is replaced by that of her mother, Marinette, and that of her father, Antonio da Silva.
During her parents’ visit to Paris, they participated with Mariel’s daughter in the opening of the “Mariel Franco” park, when they asked for justice for Mariel and her driver Anderson, who were brutally murdered in Rio de Janeiro. At that time, the family was invited by the City of Paris to open a public garden located in the 10th arrondissement of Paris between Gare de L’Est station and Canal Saint Martin.
“And seeing Mr. Antonio and Mrs. Marinette, Mariel’s parents, share the pain of their daughter’s absence and their tireless fight for justice, a knot forms in my chest. How much power has been taken away from your family and all of us? These are questions that remain unanswered, and the film tries to bring out the wound of this silence,” said the filmmaker. “El” exists because Mariel continues to exist in each of us who make cinema our survival and through it fight for justice, for every interrupted life. The film bears this pain, especially the immense pain of Mariel’s family. It’s a 2021 film that continues to circulate around the world, enriching debates in several languages about femicide and very pressing topics such as violence against the LGBTQIA+ community,” emphasizes filmmaker Lilian Mutti.
The film also combines archival footage from Mariel’s family collection from various stages of the counselor’s life, materializing a sense of an interrupted life. The work reveals Mariel as a child, then graduating from university with a Brazilian flag, before her inauguration in Rio de Janeiro as a councilor and a speech in the palace, in the presence of Indianara and transfer women from Casa Neme.
According to Lilian, “Participating in PontE for the circulation of Latin American cinema in Switzerland is extremely powerful, breaking boundaries and taking the cry for justice for Mariel to the corners of the world.” PontE is an initiative by Pernambuco filmmaker Thila Chitunda, who is responsible for the curation and selection of films.
About “El, Mariel Franco” and “Mariel Franco” Garden
Mariel Franco Park, where the film takes place, was opened at the initiative of Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo, following Brazilian associations such as RED.br (European Network for Democracy in Brazil), Mulheres da Resistência and Autres. Brazils. The film was created jointly and voluntarily by members of the Ciné Nova Bossa Association and the Ubuntu Audiovisual Collective and supported by the production companies Toca (BR) and Filmz (FR) and distributed by the Center Simone de Beauvoir. “Elle, Marielle Franco” has already toured several festivals and international tours, including Brésil en Mouvement (Paris), Festival Rainbow (Ceará), Digo (Goiás), MujerDoc (Spain), Imaginária (Italy), Cineffable (Festival Internacional dos). Paris Lesbian and Feminist Films) and the prestigious Caminho de Cinema festival based in Coimbra, Portugal. “Elle, Marielle Franco” was the only documentary short and the only Brazilian film directed by women in its premiere at the 28th edition of the Chéries Chéris festival in its premiere year of 2022 in Paris.
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