Charcoal - Expat Cinema
In rural Brazil, Irene must pull out all the stops to keep her family going. Her son Jean is a sweet kid, but she doesn't have much use for her husband, charcoal burner Jairo: he earns little and drinks a lot. Her father Firmino, after a stroke, cannot do anything anymore, including breathing without an oxygen tank. One day, this tank is not brought by the regular district nurse, but by health worker Juracy. The latter has an interesting proposal: why not replace the destitute Firmino with someone who can financially do something for the family? In other words: could they accommodate Argentine drug lord Miguel? Irene and Jairo agree - Firmino disappears, Miguel takes his place. And this has major consequences, not only for Irene's family.
How is it that violence, religion and hypocrisy enter our lives without us noticing? To this question, director Carolina Markowicz sought the answer, resulting in this thriller told full of black humour - her feature film debut.