Documentary premieres on September 19th and portrays the sexuality of people with disabilities
“I’m sure there have been some people who have stayed with me out of curiosity, because they wanted to try something different.” This is the phrase from Giovanni, the character who opens the documentary “ Assexybilidade” , which hits Brazilian theaters on September 19. Directed by Daniel Gonçalves ( My Name is Daniel ), the film presents stories about the sexuality of people with disabilities and the diversity of experiences from the perspective of someone who has some physical or intellectual condition. The director, screenwriter and producer also seeks to shed light on the taboo subject of sex and reveals the daily struggle of people with disabilities against ableism and the prejudiced idea that they don’t feel desire like everyone else. “Assexybilidade” is produced by TvZero and SeuFilme in co-production with Globo Filmes, GloboNews and Globoplay. Co-production and co-distribution by the City of Rio, through RioFilme, an agency that is part of the Municipal Secretariat of Culture and Support for the distribution of the Secretariat of Culture of the State of Rio de Janeiro through the Paulo Gustavo Law. The film is distributed by Olhar Filmes.
“The production of the documentary is largely based on my own experience. I have also been involved with people who were curious about being with someone with a disability, and I have been rejected many times because of my condition. However, sex for people with disabilities is not non-existent, quite the opposite, we also have sex, we also have desire and this cannot be hidden. That is why the documentary is so important to raise the debate and also show that we are just like anyone else”, says Daniel Gonçalves.
Over the course of almost an hour and a half, the film presents 15 characters who tell stories they have experienced involving sexuality. The narratives include extreme cases of ableism, prejudice, curiosity from people close to them, self-knowledge and reality checks within their own family, as is the case brought by Ivone. In her speech, she says that she went to the gynecologist for the first time when she was almost 40 years old, the same time that her mother discovered that she was no longer a virgin.
The documentary also tells the story of Lelê, who reinforces prejudice for being disabled and black. “I am a black, disabled, fat woman who lives in a favela. Ableism affects me in a different way, making me increasingly dehumanized. A police officer once mistook my crutch for a rifle. Another time, I was approached by someone on the street. I was wearing short clothes and, after talking to me, he saw my prosthesis and started making a fuss, saying he wouldn’t be with me because I’m like that,” explains Lelê.
“Assexybilidade” has an inclusive approach, not only in its theme, but also in the production process, which included some people with disabilities on its team, starting with the director, who has a disability of unknown origin that affects his motor coordination. In his first documentary, “Meu Nome é Daniel”, Gonçalves, through extensive VHS archive material and scenes recorded today, reviews his career and seeks to understand his condition.
The film’s world premiere was in July 2023, at OutFest Los Angeles. The first Brazilian screening was at the Rio Festival, where it won the Best Documentary Direction Award and an honorable mention from the Félix Award. It also received the Best Feature Film Direction award at the For Rainbow Festival in Fortaleza; and the Grand Jury Prize – Best Documentary Feature Film at NewFest in New York.
The film was also screened at Mix Brasil, Oslo Fusion (Norway), Pink Screens (Belgium), Gender Bender (Italy), Roze Filmdagen (Netherlands), Excéntrico Festival (Chile), Ljubiliana LGBT Film Festival (Slovenia), Queertactis Vienna (Austria), Des Images Aux Mots (France), Écrans Mixtes (France), FIFDH Geneva (Switzerland), Patois New Orleans International Film Festival (USA), San Diego Latino Film Festival (USA) Panorama Internacional Coisa de Cinema (Brazil), Cleveland International Film Festival (USA) and Zinentiendo (Spain).
“Assexybilidade” was expanded into a photography exhibition. In May 2024, the exhibition opened in Rio de Janeiro as a result of the director’s desire to use material that was produced during filming but that did not make it into the final cut. In addition to 35 images of previously unseen characters, the exhibition also featured a video with cuts of the interviews.
Synopsis
Assexybilidade tells stories about the sexuality of people with disabilities. The film talks about flirting, kissing, dating, masturbation, ableism and, of course, sex. The documentary’s greatest strength is precisely hearing from people with disabilities things that society does not expect them to say or do. We want to change the idea that they are asexual, angelic, special beings and even devoid of desires. We fuck and we fuck well, they say.
Technical sheet
Director: Daniel Gonçalves
Production: Daniel Gonçalves and Roberto Berliner
Screenplay: Daniel Gonçalves and Vinicius Nascimento
Executive Production: Leo Ribeiro, Sabrina Garcia and Ricardo Valle
Director of photography: Andrea Capella and Fabrício Mota
Still Photography and Making of: Gabriela Bagrichesky
Editing: Vinicius Nascimento and Ananda Correia
Editing consultant: Eduardo Valente
Executive production coordination: Fernanda Calábria
Production direction: Bem Medeiros and Tatiana Groff
Character research: Nathalia Santos
Direct sound: Pedro Moraes, Rafael Bordalo and PC Azevedo
Sound editing and mixing: Bernardo Uzeda
Original soundtrack: Pedro Mibielli and Jonas Sá
Color correction: Hebert Marmo and Anuar Marmo
Post-production coordination: Nat Mizher
Production: TvZero and SeuFilme
Coproduction: Globo Filmes, GloboNews, Globoplay and Rio de Janeiro City Hall, through RioFilme, an agency that is part of the Municipal Secretariat of Culture
Investment: BRDE, Audiovisual Sector Fund and ANCINE
Distribution Support: Paulo Gustavo Law / SECEC
Distribution: Olhar
Sales Agent: The Open Reel
About the director
Daniel Gonçalves has a degree in journalism from PUC-Rio and a postgraduate degree in documentary film from Fundação Getúlio Vargas. He has a disability of unknown origin that affects his motor coordination. He worked at TV Globo and is now a partner in the production company SeuFilme. He directed the short films Tem Bala Aí? (2008); Luz Guia (2012); Como Seria? (2014); and Pela Estrada Afora (2015). Meu Nome é Daniel, his first feature film, was shown at more than 20 festivals, such as IDFA, Festival do Rio, Mostra de São Paulo, Festival de Sydney, Festival de Cartagena and Mostra de Tiradentes.
He was a consultant for the short film A Diferença Entre Mongóis e Mongoloides, directed by Jonatas Rubert and awarded at the 2021 Gramado Festival. He is a consultant and co-producer of Uma em Mil, the debut feature film by Jonatas and his brother Tiago Puntel Rubert, which was filmed in April 2023.
Assexybilidade, Daniel’s second feature film, had its World Premiere at Outfest Los Angeles 2023 and won the award for best documentary direction at the Rio Festival 2023. The film will be released in theaters on September 19, 2024.
TvZero
TvZero is an audiovisual production company from Rio de Janeiro that tells stories of social and cultural relevance, focusing on the renewal of language, technical quality and also the artistic and commercial success of its projects.
In its 30 years of existence, it has produced around 40 feature films that have attracted 3 million viewers to theaters and have been shown at over 200 festivals, many of which have won awards in Brazil and abroad. Among them are “Benzinho” (Gustavo Pizzi), opening film at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival; “Gabriel and the Mountain” (Fellipe Barbosa), winner of two awards at the Critics’ Week at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival; and “Nise – The Heart of Madness” (Roberto Berliner), winner of over 20 awards at international festivals, including Best Film and Best Actress at the Tokyo International Film Festival.
On TV, the highlights are the 4 seasons of the series “#MeChamaDeBruna”, produced in co-production with FOX Premium and sold to 13 countries, and the documentary series “Eu Sou Assim”, nominated for the 2018 International Emmy in the category of Best Documentary.
SeuFilms
The first production signed by the producer was the documentary Luz Guia, shown at Shnit, the Bern International Film Festival; at Contra el Silencio Todas las Voces – VIII Encuentro Hispanoamericano de Cine y Video Documental Independiente; and at the Festival Visões Periféricas 2014.
For Canal Viva, we co-produced the programs Damas da TV, Grandes Atores and Donos da História. For Canal Futura, we produced the documentaries Beyond Dependency, Listening with the Heart, Getúlios, Os Olhos das Ruas and Cine Rolândia and Pela Estrada Afora.
The short film Como Seria? was shown at the Mostra do Filme Livre, at the Visões Periféricas Festival and won the award for best documentary at the II O Cubo de Cinema Festival.
My name is Daniel, our first feature film was shown at more than 20 festivals and received awards at the Gostoso Film Festival, the Tiradentes Film Festival, the Cartagena Film Festival and the Los Angeles Brazilian Film Festival. The film premiered on October 17, 2019.
Assexybilidade, the production company’s second feature film, is a co-production with TvZero, GloboNews, Globo Filmes and RioFilme, sponsored by FSA. The film is scheduled to premiere in the second half of 2023.
Globo Filmes and GloboNews – Co-production
Globo Filmes and GloboNews have co-produced over 100 documentaries. These are artistically compelling, diverse, and current projects that generate essential debates for Brazilian society. With languages and perspectives that transcend time and borders, the partnership has already reached an audience of over 15 million people and has been shown at over 300 festivals in Brazil and around the world, including Cannes, Hot Docs, and IDFA, the world’s largest documentary festival. It has also won awards at Venice, the Berlinale, and É Tudo Verdade (ÉTV), Brazil’s largest documentary festival, which qualifies the film for the Oscars.
Some highlights: “Symphony of a Common Man”, by José Joffily (the only Brazilian in the Frontlight section of IDFA 2022, shown at Hot Docs and Honorable Mention at ÉTV 2022); “Marinheiro das Montanhas”, by Karim Aïnouz (15-minute standing ovation at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival); “Espero tua (Re)volta”, by Eliza Capai (winner of two awards at the 2019 Berlin Film Festival); “Boy 23”, by Belisário Franca (pre-listed for the 2017 Oscars); “Babenco – Someone has to Listen to the Heart and Say: It Stopped”, by Bárbara Paz (Best Documentary on Cinema at Venice Classics at the 2019 Venice Film Festival); “Libelu – Down with the Dictatorship”, by Diógenes Muniz (ÉTV 2020 winner); “Cine Morocco”, by Ricardo Calil (winner of ÉTV 2019).
Globoplay
Globoplay is the largest Brazilian streaming platform, where subscribers have exclusive access to original and licensed content and Globo productions. These include soap operas, series, reality shows, comedy shows, movies, sports, documentaries, children’s shows and successful international titles. With Globoplay +Canais, in addition to the entire Globoplay catalog, subscribers also have access to 17 of Globo’s paid channels, live and on demand. The platform also provides live TV Globo and other free channels. All of this is available to watch whenever and wherever you want.
Watch Movies
Olhar Distribuição was born from the desire to seek out a plurality of experiences and world views, to show the diversity that exists in the context in which we live. Each film has its own universe, full of colors, textures, smiles, dilemmas and unique cultures.
What drives Olhar is to transcend the boundaries that limit fictional or real worlds, to take films to other perspectives, with different realities, in order to raise awareness and provoke reflection. With the purpose of promoting films that dialogue with contemporary times, we understand that the time is right to also look at the multiplicity of realities and narratives.
The films already distributed by Olhar are: “My Body is Political”, “The People”, “Rust”, “Free Man”, “António One Two Three”, “Elections”, “Empty Days”, “The Cannibal Club”, “The Part of the World that Belongs to Me”, “Rafiki”, “Mr. Leather”, “Fernando”, “My Name is Daniel”, “Us for Us”, “Alice Júnior”, “Maria Luiza”, “Fabiana”, “Arid Zone”, “A Yellow Animal”, “Dry Wind”, “Cocoon”, “No Hard Feelings”, “The Same Part of a Man”, “Mirador”, “Jesus Kid’, “The First Soldiers”, “Los Conductos”, “Bones of Longing” and “Grandma Nineteen”.
Different worlds, different perspectives!
Laura Neiva
laura.neiva@atomicalab.com.br
