Terra Estrangeira

Plano Collor (1990)

The real-life Brazilian economic policy that froze citizens' bank accounts, causing mass poverty and triggering a wave of emigration.

Reverse Colonization

Brazilians migrating to Portugal out of desperation, only to face discrimination and marginalization.

Exile / Statelessness

Paco and Alex represent the "lost generation" of Brazil—they feel they have no home in Brazil, nor in Europe.

Cinematography

Shot in black-and-white to visually represent the hopelessness, melancholy, and death of the characters' dreams.

Paco

The protagonist. A young, broke, aspiring actor from São Paulo who becomes a smuggler to honor his dead mother.

Alex

A young Brazilian immigrant in Lisbon. She works as a waitress, feels trapped in Europe, and dreams of a better life.

Manuela

Paco's mother. A Spanish immigrant in Brazil who dies of a heart attack when her life savings are frozen by the government.

Marcos

Alex’s boyfriend in Lisbon. A struggling Brazilian musician who gets dangerously involved in the diamond smuggling ring.

Igor

The antique dealer and criminal in São Paulo who hires Paco to be a drug/diamond mule.

Kraft

The ruthless criminal boss in Lisbon who runs the smuggling operation.