City of the Future (The)

Mila, 19, is a drama teacher. She is pregnant. The 27 year old History teacher, Gilmar, is the biological father. She is in a relationship with the 19 year old cattle herder, Igor. The three of them will form an unconventional family. This wonderful film follows their path in the town of Serra do Ramalho, in the drylands of Bahia, and society’s reaction to this unusual story.
The Northeastern drylands of Brazil have changed a lot in the past years. Hunger and poverty are still a reality, but in a much smaller scale than that of decades ago. Economic development helped draw a new outline to this immense region of the country. Issues that were once only pertinent to the capital cities are now found and debated in the furthermost towns.

The detached way in which many young men and women break free from a patriarchal, sexist and male-chauvinistic structure stands out in a society dominated by the imagery of the fearless, macho, cattle herder, the sertanejo. Younger people want to establish themselves as whole individuals, which includes breaking patterns regarding to sexuality. Many of the questions being asked by these young men and women are often thought of as pertaining to the residents of large metropolises.

Serra do Ramalho, the town in which the movie is set, has a peculiar history that helps us understand the evolution of the fight for civil rights in the country.

The town was planned and constructed in the 70s by the Military in order to take in 73 thousand citizens that had been forcefully relocated due to the construction of the Sobradinho Dam, in Northern Bahia. In a period of political exception, arbitrary methods were widely employed to get people out of their houses.

If the traumas of the past still linger amongst the older generation, the strive of some young people to comprehend the region’s history is positively impressing. And, also, the struggle to build a life that is more diverse and filled with possibilities. This is the context in which we will follow Mila, Gilmar and Igor’s path, the three young people who will form an unconventional family in the heart of Bahia’s drylands.

Trailer...