''Cafundó'' is 2005 Brazilian

historical drama film A historical drama (also period drama, period piece or just period) is a dramatic work set in the past, usually used in the context of film and television, which presents historical events and characters with varying degrees of fiction such as c ...

written and directed by

Paulo Betti Paulo Sérgio Betti (born 8 September 1952) is a Brazilian actor, playwright, and stage director. He also works occasionally as film producer and director. Biography Paulo Sérgio Betti was born on 8 September 1952 in Rafard, a small town in t ...

and Clóvis Bueno and starring

Lázaro Ramos Luís Lázaro Sacramento de Araújo Ramos (born 1 November 1978) is a Brazilian actor, television presenter, director, writer, and voice actor. He started his acting career with the Flock of Olodum Theater group, in Salvador, and is best known ...

. The film is a biopic based on

miracle worker Thaumaturgy () is the practical application of magic to effect change in the physical world. Historically, thaumaturgy has been associated with the manipulation of natural forces, the creation of wonders, and the performance of magical feats t ...

''preto velho'' João de Camargo of

Sorocaba Sorocaba () is a municipality in the interior of the state of São Paulo, Brazil. With over 723,000 inhabitants, it is the seventh-largest city in the state and the second-largest outside the Greater São Paulo region, ranking behind only Cam ...

and is based on the book ''João de Camargo de Sorocaba: O Nascimento de uma Religião'' by Carlos de Campos and Adolfo Frioli. The title comes from a former ''

quilombo A ''quilombo'' (); from the Kimbundu word , ) is a Brazilian hinterland town, settlement founded by people of Afro-Brazilians, African origin, and others sometimes called Carabali. Most of the inhabitants of quilombos, called quilombolas, were ...

'', the source of João de Camargo's original spiritual inspiration, located in today's

Salto de Pirapora Salto de Pirapora () is a municipality in the state of São Paulo in Brazil. It is part of the Metropolitan Region of Sorocaba. The population is 45,860 (2020 est.) in an area of . The elevation is . Media In telecommunications, the city was ser ...

Plot

São Paulo state SAO or Sao may refer to: Places * Sao civilisation, in Middle Africa from 6th century BC to 16th century AD * Sao, a town in Boussé Department, Burkina Faso * Serb Autonomous Regions (''Srpska autonomna oblast'', SAO), during the breakup of ...

, 1890s. João is a former slave and the son of an

Orisha Orishas (singular: orisha) are divine spirits that play a key role in the Yoruba religion of West Africa and several religions of the African diaspora that derive from it, such as Haitian Vaudou, Cuban Santería and Brazilian Candomblé. The p ...

priestess and works as a muleherd for a ''

coronel Coronel may refer to: * Archaic and Spanish variant of colonel * Coronel, Chile, a port city in Chile * Battle of Coronel off the Chilean coast during World War I * The World War II German auxiliary cruiser HSK ''Coronel'', see German night fight ...

''. One day, he and his close friend Cirino decide to leave the farm. João takes his mother to Cafundó, the bastion of

Afro-American religion African diaspora religions, also described as Afro-American religions, are a number of related beliefs that developed in the Americas in various areas of the Caribbean, Latin America, and the Southern United States. They derive from traditional ...

in the vicinity. However, João leaves the community and takes errands to work in menial jobs. He meets a

possessed Possessed may refer to: Possession * Possession (disambiguation), having some degree of control over something else ** Spirit possession, whereby gods, demons, animas, or other disincarnate entities may temporarily take control of a human body *** ...

white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

prostitute named Rosário and falls in love. Only after an unhappy marriage with Rosário and his mother's demise, João has a series of visions and decides to work as a spiritual leader for Sorocaba. In 1906, he builds a church with help from Cirino and begins to preach his syncretic faith, which is a blend of Orisha worship,

veneration Veneration (; ), or veneration of saints, is the act of honoring a saint, a person who has been identified as having a high degree of sanctity or holiness. Angels are shown similar veneration in many religions. Veneration of saints is practiced, ...

of Catholic saints, and eventually Kardecist

spiritism Spiritism may refer to: Religion * Espiritismo, a Latin American and Caribbean belief that evolved and less evolved spirits can affect health, luck and other aspects of human life * Kardecist spiritism, a new religious movement established in ...

Cast

*Lázaro Ramos as João de Camargo *Leona Cavalli as Rosário *Leandro Firmino da Hora as Cirino *Alexandre Rodrigues as Natalino *Ernani Moraes as Coronel João Justino *Luís Melo as Monsignor João Soares *Renato Consorte as Minister *

Francisco Cuoco Francisco Cuoco (29 November 1933 – 19 June 2025) was a Brazilian actor. He became known for his roles as a heartthrob in telenovelas from Rede Globo, such as '' Selva de Pedra'' (1972), ''Pecado Capital'' (1975) and '' O Astro'' (1978), among ...

as Bishop *Abrahão Farc as Judge

Production

To reconstruct the atmosphere of the 19th century, the natural scenery of

Ponta Grossa Ponta Grossa () is a municipality in the state of Paraná, southern Brazil. The estimated population is 355,336 according to official data from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics and it is the 4th most populous city in Paraná ( ...

and historic buildings of

Lapa Lapa may refer to: People * Bruno Lapa (born 1997), a Brazilian football player * Fernanda Lapa (1943–2020), a Portuguese actress * Serhiy Lapa (born 1992), a Ukrainian football player Places * Lapa, Paraná, a town near Curitiba, in the sta ...

Paranaguá Paranaguá (Tupi language, Tupi, 'Great Round Sea') is a city in the state of Paraná (state), Paraná in Brazil. Founded in 1648, it is Paraná's oldest city. It is known for the Port of Paranaguá, which serves as both the sea link for Curitiba, ...

and Antonina were chosen as filming locations.

Reception

The film won five gold Kikitos at the

Gramado Film Festival The Gramado Film Festival () is an international film festival held annually in the Brazilian city of Gramado, Rio Grande do Sul, since 1973. In 1992, the festival began to award Latin American films produced outside of Brazil. It is the biggest ...

, in the categories of best actor (Lázaro Ramos), best art direction, best cinematography and the special jury prize. It was also awarded as best film and best cinematography, at ParatyCine.

References

External links