Picked

Leading Italian sales agent and production company The Open Reel has seized international sales rights to San Sebastián-bound “Dolores” by Marcelo Gomes (“Cinema, Aspirins and Vultures”) and Maria Clara Escobar (“Desterro”), sharing its trailer in exclusivity with Variety.

Based on a screenplay by the late Chico Teixeira, “Dolores” focuses on three generations of women, led by the titular Dolores, a 65-year old widow and recovering gambling addict (played by Carla Ribas, “Alice’s House”), who has had a dream about starting up her own casino. While she’s close to her granddaughter Duda (Ariane Aparecida), who works at a gun shop and aspires to migrate to the U.S., her relationship with her daughter Deborah (Naruna Costa), who’s waiting for her boyfriend to be released from prison, is rather strained.

The family drama is produced by Sara Silveira of Dezenove Som e Imagens, one of Brazil’s most prominent producers, behind such acclaimed hits as Gomes’ breakout Cannes-selected debut “Cinema, Aspirins and Vultures,” which represented Brazil at the Oscars in 2007, Berlinale main competition entry “All the Dead Ones” by Caetano Gotardo and Marco Dutra and “Cidade; Campo.”

Said The Open Reel’s Cosimo Santoro: “I immersed myself in the stories of Dolores, her daughter Deborah, and her granddaughter Duda: three women fighting to realize their dream of a better life, no matter the cost.”

“I’ve been following Marcelo Gomes’s films for years; I really enjoy them. I’m also delighted to be working again with producer Sara Silveria, with whom we collaborated on the film ‘Cidade; Campo,’ directed by Juliana Rojas and awarded at the Berlinale,” he added.

The trailer opens on Dolores listening to her horoscope while powdering her face, then it cuts to scenes of her daughter and granddaughter, the latter as she hones her shooting skills.

“Dolores is a woman brimming with charms and contradictions, facing the challenges of old age and betting on an all-or-nothing gamble. Despite a harsh routine in São Paulo’s periphery, Dolores refuses to stop dreaming of a better life. That’s her act of rebellion,” explained Gomes, who co-wrote the final screenplay with Escobar.

“Over the years, we built a friendship and a partnership that was born, first and foremost, from the desire to make cinema. To talk about people, imagine feelings, invent other paths. It seems to me that when two really want to make a film together, the work becomes a space of creation, of nourishment—in spite of any differences—of learning. I think, before anything else, we have a lot of respect for each other, for our work, for Chico’s work, for cinema,” said Escobar.

“The three generations, however, must adjust their dreams to transform the world together. There’s no solitary transformation. That was very important for us—the idea of dialectics in the film,” they said, adding: “One of the most compelling aspects of ‘Dolores’ is how the film is directly tied to our present, addressing issues like gambling addiction, firearm sales and the dream of immigration to the U.S.”

The film is intended to complete Teixeira’s acclaimed “Trilogy of Affections,” which began with “Alice’s House” (2007), followed by “Absence” (“Ausência”) (2014).

The casting choices are also a tribute to Teixeria, featuring not only Ribas but also Gilda Nomacce as Dolores’s best friend and Matheus Fagundes as Duda’s boyfriend, both leads in “Absence.”

“Dolores” is backed by the internationalization program Brasil no Mundo, Projeto Paradiso and São Paulo film-TV entity, Spcine.

Production is led by Silveira, Eliane Bandeira and Maria Ionescu. Misti Filmes is an associate producer while GT Produções is a co-producer. California Filmes releases the film in Brazil.

The 73rd edition of the San Sebastián Festival runs over Sept. 19-27.