Development - PORTUGUESE - Documentary - 85 minutes
From chic to decadent and then back to hype, Augusta St. prompts its neighbors to face successive waves of urban transformation.
Year of production : 2014 Director(s) : Lucas MANDACARU, Mathias MANGIN Writer(s) : Lucas MANDACARU, Mathias MANGIN Cast : André MEYER, Fuad NAMEM ZEGAIB, Gilberto SILVA, Maurice PLAS, Paulo MENDES DA ROCHA, Rita LEE, Sebastião RODRIGUES, Waldomiro DE DEUS Producer(s) : Guga MILAN (IGLOO Filmes), Tobias KRACOCHANSKY (Noise Studio)
Augusta St. is once again undergoing a major urban transformation. This time, the underground spirit insufflated by youngsters of the late 90’s is endangered by the mainstream habits of the wealthier residents that are moving in. Real estate businessmen and new neighbors fight for gentrification. Some see it as an opportunity to make money while others as a proof that São Paulo is resurrecting, bringing back to life areas that were dominated by brothels, drug trafficking and falling-apart buildings. But youngsters that rediscovered Augusta a decade ago, when it still was at the hearth of São Paulo’s prostitution belt, see it with different eyes. Vibrant discos and crowded bars being replaced by fancy condos simply mean that good times are coming to an end. And maybe one day, they will talk like old people who recall the Augusta’s golden of the 60’s, surrendering to nostalgia and showing the difficulties they had to overcome the streets’ metamorphosis. Therefore, by remembering the past and looking into the present, it appears clearly that Augusta, as a key area of São Paulo’s development, has always been a stage of social challenges, a place where people have been forced to face radical transformations. Some people manage to adapt and some don’t, but this isn’t easy for anyone.
Country(ies) : BRAZIL Financing plan : Cristiano Mendes, filmmaker and former director of TV Cultura, who also worked for all major Brazilian networks. Bellini Cultural, a fundraising agency. Start of shooting : July 2014