A hazy, spectral short depicts a stark reality in Rio de Janeiro’s oldest red-light district. “Vila Mimosa is an up-to-date urban version of what areas of prostitution might have looked like in the medieval ages,” says fledging Brazilian filmmaker Kayhan Ozmen, who shot on location and with local sex workers. In Portuguese, ‘Mimosa’ usually translates to take its name from the word ‘lovable’ or ‘tender,’ a fact that contrasts with the stark economics of a place that houses over 2,000 women and generates $430,000 USD by welcoming around 4,000 clients each day. “There’s a very apocalyptic feeling that surrounds the area,” says the former professional tennis player turned director, who cast Alvinho Lancellotti, a fellow carioca and well-known figure in of MPB (Brazilian Popular Music) to play a curious man wandering the infamous area at night. “I wanted to highlight the repeated daily story of men who try to find ‘fun’ in a very unfriendly environment.”
September 21, 2014
