On the tracks of memory and under the weight of the dictatorship, a forgotten woman reignites the history of a people.
Vó África – Searching for the Old Tracks (Vó África – Em Busca dos Velhos Trilhos) is a feature film currently in post-production. It is a drama with adventure elements, with a runtime of 90 minutes and a 12+ age rating. The narrative takes place in the early 1970s, during the Brazilian military dictatorship—a period marked by censorship, persecution, and silencing. At the center of the plot is Vó África, an elderly, illiterate, and undocumented Black woman whose mysterious death awakens buried recollections, secrets, and memories. It is the teacher Margarida, played by Roberta Rodrigues, who decides to reconstruct the life story of this elderly woman—an anonymous figure symbolizing the historical erasure of millions of Black Brazilians. Her investigation leads her down dangerous paths, crossing through the public school, the tram tracks, the Havana Bar, and the police station, where the contradictions and violence of the military regime are revealed.
The school, once a refuge of affection and resistance, becomes a stage for fear and confrontation under the command of Principal Helga, the heiress of an authoritarian elite. Meanwhile, the tram and its tracks run through the film as metaphors for a progress that excludes—but also as the path that leads to the truth. Between the real and the symbolic, the everyday and the dream, the film reveals Black female protagonism in the reconstruction of memory and the fight against oblivion.
In Vó África, every memory is an act of courage. And every track leads to the same certainty: to remember is to resist.
THE FILM VÓ ÁFRICA – SEARCHING FOR THE OLD TRACKS WAS AWARDED FIRST PLACE AMONG AUDIOVISUAL PROJECTS SELECTED BY THE PAULO GUSTAVO LAW, UNDER THE RIO GRANDE DO SUL STATE DEPARTMENT OF CULTURE.
Dramatic, sensitive, and deeply realistic, the feature film reveals the historical roots connecting slavery to the military dictatorship, exposing how authoritarianism and racism intertwine in the fabric of Brazilian society.
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER GABRIELA BARENHO PRODUCTION COORDINATORS GABRIELA BARENHO & NANDO RAMOZ DIRECTOR NANDO RAMOZ ASSISTANT DIRECTORS ROGÉRIO FARÂNDOLA GIOVANNA GUEDES DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY (DOP) REBECA FRANCOFF
ASSISTANT PHOTOGRAPHER AMANDA REZER STILL PHOTOGRAPHY RODRIGO LESSA ZEZÉ CARNEIRO BEHIND THE SCENES (BTS) RAFAEL DIAS FIELD PRODUCERS LORI NELSON BETINHO MEREB ANA ALBUQUERQUE ROGÉRIO ROCHA PRODUCTION ASSISTANTS VICENTE PEDRO JULIANA RAMOS VALENTINA RAMOS JOÃO ROBERTO DUTRA
RESEARCHERS LORI NELSON GABRIEL RAMOS COMMUNICATIONS JULIA MULLER MARISA CAMPOS KICO XAVIER CAMERA OPERATOR FERNANDO MARRERA CAMERA ASSISTANTS VALENTINA ACOSTA MARIANA FARIAS AMANDA REZER ASSISTANT / UTILITY CELIANE BOTELHO ART DIRECTORS NANDO RAMOZ CLOVIS VERONEZ SET DESIGNERS SERGINHO DA VASSOURA JAHAN LEÃO ASSISTANT SET DESIGNERS ADRIANA OTERO TONY DA SILVA NEDI PAIVA GANGRENA JAIRINHO AFONSO KALI BREDER EXTRAS COORDINATOR WALBERTO CHUVAS COSTUME DESIGNERS ANGELITA VIEIRA DAS NEVES MARI NEUWALD
ASSISTANT COSTUME DESIGNERS BLANCA OSÓRIO GUILHERME GONÇALVES FELIPE OLIVEIRA STUDIO ASSISTANTS JÉSSICA TEIXEIRA VINICIOS WIEDERGRÜN MAKEUP ARTISTS ELEN POMPEO MICHI NUNES ADDITIONAL IMAGERY / FOOTAGE BOLIVAR LAUDA CASSIO MACHADO GAFFER & GRIP (ELECTRICS & MACHINERY) TONY DA SILVA NEDI PAIVA GANGRENA DIRECT SOUND / PRODUCTION SOUND MIXER CHRIS LEMON DAVI BATUKA
LOGGERS LUIZ ARGIMON SERGIO CALDAS VINI LIMA MUSIC PRODUCERS KAKO XAVIER CELSO KRAUSE GUSTAVO BARBOSA NANDO RAMOZ CATERING ZILA NEVES LEGAL COUNSEL DARTAGNAN PAULSEN
Gabriela Barenho is an executive producer and CEO of Nação Produtora Audiovisual. With a career spanning over two decades, she began working in 2001 and established herself in the audiovisual sector in 2014, combining management, creativity, and a deep commitment to Afro-Brazilian identity.
She served as a producer at TVE RS, where she worked on various productions and directed the program Galpão Nativo. Since 2019, she has led TV Nação Preta, an independent channel dedicated to Black representation.
Responsible for executing over ten approved cultural grants, Gabriela has produced award-winning works such as Nação Preta do Sul, Antecedentes Criminais, and Vó África – Searching for the Old Tracks—which won 1st place in the Audiovisual Grant (Paulo Gustavo Law – Sedac/RS).
Gabriela Barenho represents a new generation of Black women in audiovisual management, leading productions with artistic, educational, and community impact within southern Brazil's Afro-cultural landscape.
With over four decades dedicated to the arts, Nando Ramoz is a director, screenwriter, and cultural producer with a strong background in theater, cinema, and television. Founder of Pequeno Grupo de Teatro and the production company Antro de Criação, he has directed award-winning works such as Nação Preta do Sul and Antecedentes Criminais. His body of work blends poetry, social criticism, and Afro-southern ancestry, with a special focus on educational and ecological projects. In 2024, in partnership with Nação Produtora Audiovisual, he directed and co-produced Vó África – Searching for the Old Tracks, which won 1st place in the Audiovisual Grant (Paulo Gustavo Law – Sedac/RS).
Recognized for his auteur vision and leadership, Nando Ramoz transforms social experiences into narratives of resistance and belonging.
First place in the Cultural Productions Grant by Sedac RS (Aldir Blanc Law) with the miniseries Nação Preta do Sul.
Awarded funding in the Heritage and Assets grants (Aldir Blanc Law) for the projects Nação Preta Movimenta and Pequeno Grupo de Teatro – 35 Years.
Screenplay Highlight Award at the II Cinema Negro em Ação Festival with the short film Nação Preta do Sul.
Official Selection for the IV Popular Film Showcase of Restinga and the Gaúcho Short Film Showcase at the 50th Gramado Film Festival.
Selected for co-production funding by FAC Filma and Subverse Film for the post-production of the feature film Nação Preta do Sul.
First place in the Audiovisual Grant I (Paulo Gustavo Law – Sedac RS) for the project Vó África – Searching for the Old Tracks, also approved for fundraising under the Rouanet Law.
Selected for the Imbituba Environment Week Grant with the play Animais em Perigo, with renewal approved under the Emergency Rouanet Law RS.
Funded by FUMPROARTE for the project #Ocupa as Redes, a workshop for Black female entrepreneurs.
Selected for script development funding (Paulo Gustavo Law – Porto Alegre) for the project Antecedentes Criminais.
NAÇÃO PRODUTORA
AND ANTRO DE CRIAÇÃO
Since 2019, the production companies Nação Produtora and Antro de Criação have achieved notable milestones, demonstrating their commitment to excellence and innovation. Both companies aim to leverage their creative platform as a powerful tool to promote social change and advocate for nature preservation.
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