Manaus is an industrial city surrounded by the Amazon rainforest. Justino, a 45 years old Desana native, works as a security guard at the cargo port. Since the death of his wife, his main company is his youngest daughter with whom he lives in a modest house on the outskirts of town. Nurse at a health clinic, Vanessa is accepted to study medicine in Brasilia and will need to be leaving soon.

During the night, a mysterious creature follows his footsteps. During the day, he fights to stay awake at work. But soon the tedious routine of the harbor is broken by the arrival of a new guard. Meanwhile, his brother’s visit makes Justino remember the life in the forest, from where he left twenty years ago. Between the oppression of the city and the distance of his native village, Justino can no longer endure an existence without place.

“The initial idea for this project emerged while I was shooting two documentaries in the Amazon region, where I met some indigenous families who had left their traditional territories deep within the forest to live in the city. I was also confronted with a new generation of urban indigenous people, who carried their traditions with them as they struggled to find their place in Brazilian society. The stories they told me about their experiences revealed the complex and tense relationship between indigenous cultures and Western civilization, which has marked Brazilian history since colonial times. Urged on by these encounters, I began to jot down my first notes for a movie centered on the relationship between two generations, a father and daughter living in Manaus.” – Maya Da-Rin