“Cidade; Campo”, interview with the director Juliana Rojas

February 21, 2024

Juliana Rojas, director , "Cidade; Campo". Two stories about changing life and place, country side versus city, one film about reconstructing one's life.

"Cidade; Campo", interview with the director Juliana Rojas Angelo Acerbi

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Juliana Rojas presents her new film “Cidade; Campo” at the 74th Berlin International Film Festival. The film narrates two separate stories, like two films in one, linked by a common theme: migration. Two opposite paths, one from the countryside to the city, and the other reversed from city to countryside, that involve common issues as family ties, grief, work relations and love.

Materialism versus existentialism

One of the goals of “Cidade; Campo” is to confront the essence of modern city life, the materialistic approach that our culture has forced on us, with the existentialistic approach to life that living in the nature , with te rougher and tougher rhythm of country life, involves.

A supernatural atmosphere

To enhance this difference, Julian Rojas decided to include in the second story of “Cidade; Campo” an element of supernatural, inspired to the ghost stories she loves. this is why the country side part has also a different look, and narrative pace.

Plot

Two tales of migration between the city and the countryside. After devastating floods in her hometown, rural worker Joana moves to São Paulo to find her sister Tania who lives with her grandson Jaime. Joana struggles to thrive in this “working city”. Entering the world of precarious employment, she applies for a job at a cleaning company. There, Joana gradually bonds with her colleagues whose collective struggle for better working conditions brings new meaning to her life. Meanwhile, her deepening relationship with young Jaime reawakens memories of her missing son. In the second part of the film, following the death of her estranged father, Flavia moves to his farm with her wife Mara. The two women struggle to make a fresh start in the wilderness. Living in the abandoned house, Flavia discovers unknown aspects of her father’s life. The couple suffers a shock when facing the harsh realities of rural daily life. Flavia begins to suspect that there is something in the woods surrounding the house. Nature forces the couple to confront old memories and ghosts.

Written by: Angelo Acerbi

Guest

Juliana Rojas