A 19-minute love letter to the queer spaces we lost to silence.
In the midst of a pandemic scenario, the festive culture of Fortaleza faces obstacles to remain resplendent, which takes us to Praça dos Leões. How is the Lions Cultural Bar? How to deal with the absence of new memories? How to deal with silence? Saudades dos Leões is a documentary that seeks to invoke the memory of this space and rescue moments of joy and cultural relevance in the lives of its audience, mostly LGBTQI+. Furthermore, it talks about its silence and how the lack of this symbolic space weighs on people's history.
Direction
Magalhães turns absence into powerful presence.
Production
Pandemic constraints become poetic storytelling device.
Director
João Paulo Magalhães
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Praça dos Leões represents Brazil's rich 'casa de show' tradition—intimate live music venues that shaped regional identities and queer community formation outside Rio/São Paulo centers.
The 19-minute runtime mirrors pandemic time itself—suspended, compressed, refusing narrative resolution. Magalhães shot during actual lockdown restrictions in Fortaleza.
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