King's Brazil Institute is delighted to invite you to debate debut feature Salamandra with director Alex Carvalho and co-producer Adriana Rouanet.

Film Screening - 6pm-8pm

Debate - 8pm

Salamandra

Brazil/  France/ Germany/ Belgium

(110 Min, Drama, Colour, 1:1.85. Dolby Digital 5.1)

Starring: Marina Foïs, Maicon Rodrigues, Anna Mouglalis and Bruno Garcia.

In the wake of years as her father's carer, Catherine escapes to Brazil to reconnect with her sister. She stumbles into a relationship with a charming young fixer. Gil’s fragility touches Catherine, and their mutual attraction pivots upon the search for acceptance they both crave. Determined not to look back, Catherine must decide whether to see her reinvention through to its irrevocable conclusion. Based on Jean Christophe-Rufin's novel, Salamandra plunges into Brazil's social tensions, examining mutual dominance and colonisation through the body. Nominated for the Critics' Week Grand Prize at the 78th Venice Film Festival and Best First Feature in the São Paulo International Film Festival, the drama will be released in 2022.

Born and raised in Recife, Alex Carvalho moved to London to study film in 2000. Though diverse, his work is informed by a background rich in non-verbal storytelling traditions and characterised by a sensitivity to rhythm's dynamic and emotive nature. Alex has developed and produced audiovisual content across Europe, Africa and Latin America.

"A film of indisputable aesthetic value, a daring and unconventional look at the dynamics of a couple that experiences desire against all rules of common sense. Salamandra hides a 'western of the soul' where the firearms are attraction and desire." Bea Fiorentino, General delegate Venice Int Film Critics' Week 

 "Uma atuação reluzente de Marina Foïs." Bruno Ghetti, Folha de São Paulo

 “Uma obra de ambições profundas e leituras múltiplas," Bruno Carmelo, Papo de Cinema

"Catherine and Gil's experience may be extreme in its violence and irrevocability, but at its heart are questions of self-acceptance and identity that many will find uncomfortably familiar”. Alex Carvalho, Salamandra’s Director