Zizi (ou oração da jaca fabulosa)

Zizi (ou oração da jaca fabulosa) is a fabular documentary based on memories of the suburban backyard where the director spent part of his childhood, before growing up in the big city and becoming a filmmaker. It tells the story of Dona Zizi, a woman of mixed Indigenous and Black background, who becomes the leader of this small territory after marrying a mysterious and silent blue-eyed man of unknown origins.
Mixing photos, documentary images, and scenes staged for the camera, the filmmaker directs himself and his family in a reflection on the passage of time, the colonial wounds still present in the family, and fragments of his first films as a director – which were filmed there, on that ground of affections and ghosts, and where the figure of a large tree symbolized a perhaps impossible eternity.

Felipe M. Bragança is a filmmaker whose work is deeply rooted in Brazilian culture and historical memory, exploring its many layers using a distinctive form of magical realism. His films have been screened at festivals such as the Berlinale, Cannes, the International Film Festival Rotterdam, Locarno, and Sundance. Retrospectives of his work have been held at Jeu de Paume, California Institute of the Arts, Arsenal, and Wolf Kino. Bragança is currently developing a new adaptation of the Brazilian modernist classic Macunaíma by Mário de Andrade, which will be his fifth feature film. He has already been part of the Forum Expanded program with the films Fernando Que Ganhou Um Pássaro do Mar (with Helvécio Marins Jr., 2013) and Escape from my eyes (2015).

Director Felipe M. Bragança. Screenplay Felipe M. Bragança. Cinematography Tiago Rios. Editing Karen Black, Felipe M. Bragança. Music Caxtrinho. Sound Design Fernando Henna. Sound Anne Santos. Production Design Felipe M. Bragança. Producers Marina Meliande, Felipe M. Bragança. Executive Producers Marina Meliande, Eduardo Cantarino. Production company Duas Mariola Filmes (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil). With Leo Tucherman, Felipe M. Bragança.

Films: 2003: Por dentro de uma gota dágua / Waterbound (10 min). 2004: O nome dele (o clóvis) / His Name (the Clown) (15 min). 2006: Jonas e a baleia / Jonah and the Whale (20 min). 2009: A fuga da mulher gorila / Escape of the Monkey Woman (82 min). 2010: A alegria / The Joy (106 min), Desassossego (filme das maravilhas) / Neverquiet (Film of Wonders) (63 min). 2012: Zahy (5 min). 2013: Fernando que ganhou um pássaro do mar / Fernando Who Received A Bird From The Sea (20 min, forum expanded 2014), Claun (3 x 23 min). 2015: Fuja dos meus olhos / Escape From My Eyes (33 min, forum expanded 2015). 2017: Não devore meu coração! / Don't Swallow My Heart, Alligator Girl! (106 min, generation 14plus 2017). 2019: Tragam-me a cabeça de Carmen M. / Bring Me the Head of Carmen M. (59 min), Um Animal Amarelo / A Yellow Animal (115 min). 2025: Zizi (ou oração da jaca fabulosa) / Zizi (or Praying to a Fabulous Tree).