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Toll

Pedágio

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Suellen needs some money. She is a single mother raising a teenage son on the salary of a toll booth worker in an industrial Brazilian town. Her son’s father is out of the picture, and her live-in boyfriend does nothing but take from what little she has. Her solution to her financial woes is to join a gang of thieves who steal wristwatches from wealthy motorists. With this money, Suellen can pay for the most important thing in her life: her son’s conversion therapy.

Director Carolina Markowicz presents a cinematic study of intolerance and hypocrisy. In a town where confession and prayer relieve you of the sins of infidelity, theft, and judgment, no sin is greater than a boy wearing makeup and learning English so he can lip-sync to his favourite American singers. The narrow-minded Suellen considers the perception of others before her son’s happiness, leading her to make a series of rash decisions that will have fateful consequences for the both of them.

Director
Cast

Maeve Jinkings, Kauan Alvarenga, Thomás Aquino, Aline Marta Maia, Isac Graça

Credits
Country of Origin

Brazil/Portugal

Year

2023

Series

Panorama

Language

In Portuguese with English subtitles

Film Contact
Content Warning

Violence

18+
101 min
Drama LGBTQIA2S+ Women Directors

Book Tickets

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Credits

Executive Producer

João Macedo, Chica Mendonça

Producer

Karen Castanho, Vega Luís, Urbano, Bianca Villar, Fernando Fraiha, Sandro Aguilar, Carolina Markowicz

Screenwriter

Carolina Markowicz

Cinematography

Luis Armando Arteaga

Editor

Lautaro Colace; Ricardo Saraiva

Production Design

Vicente Saldanha

Original Music

Filipe Derado

Director

Carolina Markovicz headshot

Carolina Markowicz

Carolina Markowicz has written and directed six short films selected by more than 300 festivals and is the recipient of many awards. The Orphan premiered in Cannes’ Director’s Fortnight in 2018 and won the Queer Palm. Since 2021, Her debut feature, Charcoal, premiered at Toronto and San Sebastian in 2022.

Filmography: Charcoal (2022)

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