DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT

Like most Brazilians, I grew up in a religious family. I wasn't raised Catholic, but I learned to respect my grandmother's religion. I have always found the mystical side of Catholicism fascinating. Hanging the saint upside down to make him respond to the request, the altars, all the hand gestures, and repetitions. In Holly Happiness, I wanted to imagine how an extremely religious Brazilian woman leaves her husband after the age of 60. The film is inspired by a short story that I published in the compilation "A novena to sin in peace", but unlike the literary version, I wanted Maria to achieve her goal. Santa Felicidade is a film of hope, of agency in the face of life, even if moving ahead means having tears on her face and no destination.