Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs
Brazil Initiative

Spring 2018 Film Series - Madame Satã (Karim Aïnouz, 2002)

Thursday, February 15, 2018

7:00pm – 9:00pm

Joukowsky Forum, Watson Institute, 111 Thayer Street.

"Madame Sata" is a portrait of Joao Francisco dos Santos, a flamboyant, fiercely proud drag queen with a hair-trigger temper, who became a legend in the clubs and slums and prisons of Brazil. Born about 1900, dead in 1976, he spent nearly 30 of those years in prison, 10 of them for murder. "There's something eating me up inside," he tells a friend. Performing his drag act provides a release, but requires a lifestyle that attracts trouble.” (Roger Ebert)

Watch a trailer here.

Running from February through May 2018,  the Brazil Initiative's Spring Film Series presents a selection of seven films, both feature films and documentaries, on LGBT experiences within Brazilian society. The series serves as a reminder as to the rich catalogue of LGBT-themed films in Brazil.