This highly colourful short film tells the story of a child, Lulina, who’s wrestling with the conflicting emotions triggered by the imminent arrival of a little brother. While the moon becomes a giant blank canvas on which she draws whatever her imagination conjures, a strange little dragon appears beneath her pencil strokes.
The directors took inspiration from various aspects of their native Brazil to create this maritime universe influenced by magic. They drew particularly on Candomblé, a mixture of Catholicism and African beliefs, and the relationship with nature that fishing communities have in southeast Brazil. Enhanced by intense contrasts, this coming-of-age story shows us that turning to the imagination can be a cathartic and soothing way of accepting what’s coming – and perhaps even celebrating it, since becoming a big sister or a big brother is also a chance to assert oneself and grow!
