My Name is Baghdad
Meu Nome é Bagdá
2020 | 99 minutes | Brazil
Director: Caru Alves de Souza
Writers: Caru Alves de Souza, Josefina Trotta
Languages: Portuguese, English
Subtitles: English
Content warning: brief violence
Crystal Bear for Best Film in the Generation 14plus, 70th Berlin International Film Festival
Nominee for Best Film in the International Feature Competition, 2020 Guanajuato International Film Festival
Caru Alves de Souza’s second feature My Name is Baghdad (Meu Nome é Bagdá) follows 17-year-old skater Baghdad whose coming-of-age story explores femininity, the strength of sisterhood, the energy of love and the journey to finding your community.
With a soundtrack that oozes youthful exuberance, the film drops you into the vibrant world of teen skaters in Freguesia do Ó, a working-class neighbourhood in the outskirts of São Paolo. Bearing witness to the socio-economic realities of this community, as well as the need for female solidarity, we see Baghdad forge a space for herself within this primarily male crew until her life changes after meeting an all-femme skate crew.
My Name is Baghdad won the top prize, the Crystal Bear for best film, in the Generation 14plus sidebar of the 70th Berlin International Film Festival.
- Azarin Sohrabkhani