Vera (1986 film)

Vera
Theatrical release poster
Directed bySérgio Toledo
Written bySérgio Toledo
Felipe Daviña
André Macedo
Produced bySérgio Toledo
StarringAna Beatriz Nogueira
Norma Blum
Raul Cortez
Carlos Kroeber
CinematographyRodolfo Sánchez
Edited byTércio G. da Mota
Music byArrigo Barnabé
Production
companies
Nexus Filmes
Embrafilme
Distributed byEmbrafilme
Release date
  • October 19, 1986 (1986-10-19)[1]
Running time
87 minutes
CountryBrazil
LanguagePortuguese

Vera is a 1986 Brazilian semi-biographical drama film written and directed by Sérgio Toledo. Shot in São Paulo,[2] it stars Ana Beatriz Nogueira, Norma Blum, Raul Cortez, Carlos Kroeber, and Aída Leiner. The film is based on the life of Anderson Bigode Herzer, a transgender man most known as the author of poems book A queda para o alto (Descending Upwards).[3] Both the book and the movie cover the story of a trans man who attempts to find himself while living in a boarding school in São Paulo, but experiences many prejudices and traumatic experiences.

The initial conception for the film's script came following research carried out by the Brazilian government organization Fundação de Bem-Estar do Menor (Febem), as well as the reports written by Herzer in his book, which was published after his death. Funding for the film came from Embrafilme as well as the private sector.[4]

Ana Beatriz Nogueira's performance was acclaimed by critics and earned her numerous awards, including the Silver Bear in the Best Actress category at the Berlin International Film Festival, the second Brazilian actress to achieve this following Marcélia Cartaxo's win for Hour of the Star.[5][6]

  1. ^ "Vera" (in Portuguese). Cinemateca Brasileira. Archived from the original on October 29, 2014. Retrieved June 22, 2014.
  2. ^ "Vera". Afinal (65, 86, 92). Editora C, University of Texas. 1985.
  3. ^ Rich, B. Ruby (2013). New Queer Cinema: The Director's Cut. Duke University Press. p. 152. ISBN 978-0822354284.
  4. ^ Editores da Enciclopédia Itaú Cultural (June 25, 2020). "Vera". enciclopédiaitaúcultural.org (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on June 26, 2023. Retrieved June 26, 2023.
  5. ^ "36th Berlin International Film Festival – Prizes & Honours 1986". Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin. Archived from the original on 4 December 2019. Retrieved 10 December 2017.
  6. ^ "37th Berlin International Film Festival – Prizes & Honours 1987". Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin. Archived from the original on 23 December 2019. Retrieved 10 December 2017.