The Star of Exciting New Drama 'Manas' Didn't Know She Was the Lead Character Until Seeing the Movie

The Star of Exciting New Drama 'Manas' Didn't Know She Was the Lead Character Until Seeing the Movie By  Hannah Hunt  &  Perri Nemiroff Published 36 minutes ago Sign in to your Collider account Summary Generate a summary of this story follow Follow followed Followed Like Like Thread Log in Here is a fact-based summary of the story contents: Try something different: Show me the facts Explain it like I’m 5 Give me a lighthearted recap

Summary

• Perri Nemiroff chats with Manas director Marianna Brennand after a Collider screening of the movie.
• During their Q&A, Brennand looks back on the ten years of research she did for the film, and also explains why she opted to cast a non-professional actor in the lead role.
• Manas tells the story of a 13-year-old girl from Marajó Island who's stuck in the middle of a world that silences violence against women and children.

Manas is the result of ten years of experience, research, and conviction. Director Marianna Brennand began developing the film after learning about the ongoing sexual violence faced by women and girls on Marajó Island. What was first imagined as a documentary evolved into her first fiction feature, a piece that protects survivors by refusing to recreate their trauma while still confronting the horrific systems that enable it.

Following an exclusive Collider screening, Brennand joined Perri Nemiroff for a Q&A to discuss the evolution of Manas, from finding the idea for the film to the moment she realized the script had found its voice. Brennand also reflects on the decision to center the film on Marcielle, the research that went into crafting the story, and the responsibility she felt toward the young actors bringing that story to screen.

How The Story of 'Manas' Took Shape

"I have to tell this story. I need to shed light, and maybe through cinema, help bring transformation."

Dira Paes and Jamilli Correa sitting at a classroom desk talking in Manas.Image via KimStim Films

PERRI NEMIROFF: I'm going to start with one of my favorite writing questions. Can you tell us what idea number one was, the thing that started this all? But then I also want to know if you had a break story moment, something you and the other writers came up with along the way that made you think, “Our movie is whole and ready to go now?"

MARIANA BRENNAND: Oh, great questions. Okay, so the first one, this film started as a desire of mine to give voice to women and girls who are silenced every day. And it started around a little more than 10 years ago when I heard for the first time what happened to these women and girls in Marajoy Island, where the film takes place, all the sexual violence that happens there. And as a documentaryist, my first impulse was, "I have to tell this story. I need to shed light and maybe through cinema help bring transformation."

So that's how Manas came about. And then when I started to think how to put the story together, how to make this film, I understood that it would be impossible for me to put women and girls in front of the camera and ask them to recount such traumatic experiences because that would make them relive the trauma. And just go through some more violence. And that's how fiction came very organically and naturally. And to me, the only way possible to tell this story without inflicting more violence.

Finding the Right Main Character for 'Manas'

"I really wanted this film to bring the spectator close to this girl and to create empathy."

Marcielle on a boat, looking over her shoulder.Image via KimStim Films

BRENNAND: In the beginning of the development of the script, we had Marcielle's story and the police officer Areta. They were going parallel. In the very beginning, really early thoughts of it. And then I understood because I really wanted this film to bring the spectator close to this girl and to create empathy. And for me, it was really important that you felt what she was feeling, and you got into her heart and soul. So early on, we understood that the only way that we thought we could do that was if you saw the story through her eyes. So she became the sole absolute protagonist. And that was a shift. And also at the ending, that was a big one.

Well, now I've got to follow up. I love how I'm just jumping to the ending. How did the ending change?

BRENNAND: I think until the third treatment, the ending was open. She would run away from home, and you would not know what was going to happen to her. But just as we kept going back to Marajo Island and doing the research and just going deep inside the psychology of trauma and understanding what happened to those women and girls and how complex this whole reality is and how hard it is for those women, especially in that region, to ask for help. It is for us here. Imagine for them. And then that's the only way she can break the cycle. So, yeah, the killing of the father marked a very, very strong and important change and just in the development of the story.

I wanted to follow up on something else you brought up — starting this 10 years ago. I know a pretty significant amount of research went into this film, but of course, you only have an hour and 40 minutes of storytelling here, so it was making me wonder, can you walk us through the process of paring down all the research you did and figuring out what to focus on to have a specific story, but while also making sure your film spoke to a wider issue?

BRENNAND: Exactly. Yes. I think it was all about understanding this girl's trajectory and what she went through. I mean, a lot of the research was really going deep into the reality of every single one of the family and how the violence affects everyone, the mother, the father, the sister, Marcielle, her friends. And I wanted to create very complex characters. And I wanted the story to be very authentic to what really happened.

So I was obsessed with the research and Manas was made and constructed with a collection of stories that were told to me and that I encountered throughout those eight years. Also, part of our great challenge was that from the beginning, I think an important principle of the film was how to tell this story without showing violence explicitly. I wanted the viewer to feel the violence, but not see the violence because I think sexual violence should not exist. So, if I was to renege the scene of sexual violence for me as a woman, it would not be right. I mean, I would be allowing it to happen, you know, in a fiction film. And also, I wanted to protect this girl's body and the representation of our bodies on the screen. So those were like founding principles of writing the script and developing the story.

So you have a great script, but then you need to get the resources to actually make the film. I love asking about that part of the process because making movies is hard, but acquiring those resources can oftentimes be just as hard. Can you tell us about a low you experienced, a time when things weren't going to plan, and you thought, “I don't know if I'm ever going to make this movie?" But then I also want the opposite. Can you tell us about a person you met or something you acquired that made you and the team stop and go, “The time has come. We're going to make Manas now”?

BRENNAND: Yeah, I love that. Okay, so Manas started with just … I can give you a very good example. When I understood that we could not tell this story as a documentary, our producer, Carolina Benevides, is my partner and co-writer. There was a grant in Brazil, a fund, a governmental fund for script development. We unfortunately don't have that anymore. But it's so important to have a grant to develop the script. So we submitted Manas, and we said, “If this story is important, if it is as urgent and necessary as we think, we're going to win this grant.”

And we did. So that really made the film to be born in 2014, which is when we officially started. And, you know, that allowed us to do the first trip to Marajo Island and to hire the first screenwriter who worked with us and to make the first treatment of the script. And then so many good things actually happen with this film regarding financing. I mean, it is really hard. We have to work a lot. But we also submitted the film to Global Filmes, which is a big TV and production company in Brazil. They have a part that is dedicated to films. And we were selected and they supported us. And then in the middle of the process of making Manas, they came as co-producers. So they give even more financial support. And we had a mentor there while we were working with Global. We had sort of like a writing lab with Bráulio Mantovani. I don't know if you have heard of him. He wrote City of God.

So it was a real pleasure to be with him. And then, yeah, we started. I think the hardest part was how to internationalize the film. So we started going to the Berlin film market, to the Cannes film market, to look for distributors, to look for international partners, co-producers. So it was a long journey and it paid off big time.

Casting, Directing, and Protecting the Young Actors

"I feel like she was an actress in past lives."

Close-up of Marcielle hunting in the Amazon rainforest with a man at her shoulder teaching her to shoot.Image via KimStim Films

I have to touch on casting now. First, can you tell us a little bit about coming to the conclusion that you would best be able to make this movie with non-professional actors?

BRENNAND: Well, that was a desire since the beginning of the film. I think maybe from my documentary background or for the films that I liked and admired, I really wanted to work with a 13-year-old girl who was the same age as Marcielle. I didn't want to work with an 18-year-old who looked younger. And I wanted to work with non-professional actors for the young cast.

But the adult cast is all made of amazing, experienced professional actors from all over Brazil, different regions and states of Brazil. So that mixture was also, I think, very interesting and made it spark and really beautiful in the film. And finding Jamilli [Correa]. Oh, my god, like, I don't know, encountering her. I don't like to say finding, you know, because I think I just recognized her. I feel like she was an actress in past lives. It is so amazing what she does. Breathtaking.

Really is something else. I'll ask you a little bit about directing her as a non professional actor, because it can be intimidating to jump on a film set and especially to have to shoulder a story like this. So what are some things you wanted to do with her in order to make sure her performance stayed natural, but you got what you needed. And you also created a safe environment for her.

BRENNAND: Yeah, we had the first before, like saying she's the one who is going to do it. We did a workshop with like 10, the 10 girls that we thought could do the film. She was the one that we really believed would interpret Jamilli. But we really wanted to see them interacting, to understand their maturity and also how they felt comfortable around the crew, and talk to their parents. And Jamilli always stood out, she has this strong look and she's amazing. And then when we finally cast her, we did almost two months of preparation with the young cast and the adult cast, just like living and doing special activities and just to make them feel like a family and, you know, to develop this friendship and tenderness between them, because it's how the family starts, right?

And we did a lot of physical preparation. I mean, you feel like she's a natural in the forest, but she's an urban girl from Belen. So she had never really liked going deep in the river or paddling a boat, going to the deep forest. So we had to do all this physical preparation with her and the rest of the cast. And that also helped her start to get it inside Masiali's skin. And as I said about the violence, I mean, trying to create a safe environment, not only for the crew, but especially for the actors, was very, very important for me.

And considering the young cast, Jamilli was 13 years old at the time. So I wanted to do that, making sure that she was taken care of. And I would preserve her psychological health because it's such a hard, you know, hard film, hard reality. And what I did was I never showed the script to the young cast. I didn't want them to read those words and to internalize what really was happening to their characters. So what we did was, I mean, she knew she was portraying a girl who was sexually abused by her father and sexually exploited at the barges. But she didn't know exactly what was going to happen in every scene. I did not direct her in a way to, as if I was saying, "Oh, in this scene, in the forest, Masili is the scene where he's going to abuse you for the first time." I never used those words. So I tried to, yeah, do it in a symbolic, very healthy way.

Did Jamilli walk away from this production with an eagerness to act more?

BRENNAND: Yes! She's taking acting classes in Brazil. Yeah, yeah, she's so happy. I mean, she was so proud of herself. It was so beautiful to see her. I mean, she started to understand the dynamics of the set and of the shooting. She was so smart. I remember there was one day that she was like, “Oh, Mari, they didn't put the açaí in my nails.” She was understanding continuity and everything. She was just so smart. And then I just remember now, I don't think I ever said that. Another thing that I did not to put pressure on her was she never knew she was the protagonist. Yeah, she only understood that the film was told from her point of view when she saw it ready.

I didn't want to put this pressure on her. I mean, can you imagine like a 13-year-old girl knowing that she was carrying the whole film? So she felt that she was as important as the other girls, and she had no idea.

What was her reaction when she saw herself in a starring role in a feature film?

BRENNAND: She was so happy. She was so happy. And it was so beautiful because the first time she saw it, she told me, “Oh, now I understand.” So the scene in the forest, it's when the abuse happens. So she's slowly understanding the film. She's 16 now.

You brought up documentaries a couple of times. Just in case anybody doesn't know, you are an experienced documentary filmmaker, but this movie marks your very first time directing a feature-length fiction movie. A couple questions about that. First, I also know you got a BA in filmmaking. Is this your first time directing actors? Were you focused on documentary filmmaking in school as well?

BRENNAND: This is my first time directing actors. My first film that I did at school was a short documentary called Capoeira Freedom of the Soul. So I had only done documentaries. Yeah. That was the thing that scared me the most while making this film was directing the actors. That's what I prepared the most. And that's what I was most excited to do.

What are some takeaways from directing your cast in this that might shape the actors' director you are in the future when you make more fiction features?

BRENNAND: Oh, good question. I don't know. I think that I like to approach every project in its uniqueness. So if I make a film that feels like Manas, maybe I will bring what I learned from this experience. But I don't know. It's going to come.

The next time you direct a fiction feature, we'll do a Collider screening and I'll revisit this question to ask about some of the tools you used!

BRENNAND: I'm looking forward to knowing that. But mainly, I think just, you know, we did a very intimate preparation, acting preparation. And I like the actors to be very free. I don't like to mark the scene too much. So we worked with the young cast and the adult cast so that we would have everyone just really, you know, inside their characters. So when I said action, I mean, the camera, I mean, we shot long takes. So the camera is mainly just like a ballet, following the characters and letting them be, you know, in the space and in the mise en scene of the scene. So this is something that I really loved doing. So I think I might keep on doing that.

Can you paint a picture of what the crew looked like? I imagine when you're shooting that way, you probably want as few people on set as possible.

BRENNAND: Oh, the whole crew, the whole crew. Yeah. That's a good question. I used, I think, around 60 people. But I mean, including Caitrion and the whole crew, between like 60 and 70 people. But then in the set, close to the characters inside Masiel is house me assistant director, sound boom, camera, focus, assistant camera, seven people.

And yeah, and I was close. One thing that I love is that I don't like to be on the monitor far away from the scene. I was really close to my DPPA, who is amazing. And you know, we're just breathing with the characters and with the actors. So yeah, my crew is amazing. I mean, of all Brazilian artists that I admired for a long time and that I really wanted to work with once I do a fiction film. So I was very lucky to work with people that were very experienced and brilliant and that I admired.

I have a really unfair follow-up question. Just so we can hear a little more about a few of them, can you name a couple of Manas unsung heroes for us? Who is someone behind the scenes that we have to know the contribution they made to your film?

BRENNAND: Thank you for this question. I will give you three. Carolina Benevides, my producer, the heart and soul of this film with me - producer and co-writer. And two people who, it would be impossible to make this film without them, [Sister Irma Enriqueca Volcante], she and officer Delegado Rodrigo Amorim, who inspired the character of police officer Aretha.

And these two people, they are really like heroes. They fight against sexual violence in the Amazon region, especially in Marajó. The scene at the boat in the part, the rate scene was inspired by a real one that Rodrigo did the first time that anyone really tried to stop the sexual exploitation in the barges. And these two people received me in Marajó and took me through the Tajapuru river and through the communities and to talk to social systems, psychologists and people that work in the protective systems, helping those girls and women. And they were fundamental for the research and also for making sure that the film was as authentic as it needed to be. Like we were checking everything with them. “Does it happen like that? Do you think this is truthful? Would this girl react like that?” So yeah.

Marcielle holder her younger sister's hand on a dock by water.Image via KimStim Films

AUDIENCE MEMBER: I noticed that the film doesn't have a score. Was that intentional?

BRENNAND: Yay. Thank you for this question. I love it. Yes, it was intentional. It was intentional from this. I mean, during the writing of the film, I could never hear music in the scenes. I mean, it's such a hard reality and I could never hear music like in a traditional score. We have diagetic music that happens in the bar. And also I wanted the sound of the film to be a really immersive, sensorial experience. So I believe the music of the film is her heartbeat and the sound of the forest. And on that note, the film starts very realistic, the sound, still when the film is starting in the black and in the first credits, just to immerse the viewer in this environment and in, you know, in her reality and in her world, but in a way that it's very realistic and naturalistic. And as the violence as it starts to happen, the sound becomes more psychological and you start to hear things through her perspective.

AUDIENCE MEMBER: From the time you did the film to now, have you heard from or followed up with anyone to see how things are going in that region in terms of the violence now compared to some years ago?

BRENNAND: Unfortunately, the violence there, as you know, everywhere in the world, it's still going on. But we are creating a lot of noise in Brazil and one thing that is happening now and it will take part. The whole of next year is that we are starting a social circuit of the film of exhibitions and we're bringing the film to Marajó Island and we're going to do a lot of screenings in the communities and bringing social assistance and psychologists to do the screenings and talk to these women and girls to help her. So I mean, as this film starts with the intention of bringing light and maybe change, so it's an important path of this film that we are here talking about it and this message is spreading across because we know that violence against women doesn't happen only in Brazil.

It's all over the world, unfortunately. So it's really important to be here with you, you know, to be like talking about it and that you come out of this experience of watching Manas transformed in a way, hopefully, you know, and wanting to take action and do something about it. Thank you for your question.

AUDIENCE MEMBER: Considering there are so many enabling people in the film, in your field research, did you find that it was very common for people to enable this behavior? Was it actually something that you found when you were speaking to the victims or survivors?

BRENNAND: Yeah, absolutely. Everything you see in the film, it's inspired by real lived experiences and stories of women that I collected and I heard. So what you see in the film represents the reality in that region. And I think the character of the mother, Donielli, she's the symbol of the cycle of abuse that goes through generations. And a woman that feels entrapped and has no strength and courage to break the silence because she has lived that. And what I encountered there, there were many, many of the women who felt as if this was the only way possible of living the only reality possible because they saw their mother going through, they saw, you know, they know their grandmother went through their sister, their, you know, their cousins. So unfortunately, yeah, it is. And then you see there's the, the character of Chassie in the vending shop that she tells her, you know, this is, you know, happens to every girl here. And yeah, one of the most crushing moments.

NEMIROFF: I'll end our conversation with one of my personal favorite questions. I love film, I love filmmaking, but making movies can be very hard. And also, the subject matter here is quite heavy. But, I do like highlighting the moments of joy we experience while making these films and telling these stories, so can you wrap us up by singling out the moment of making Manas that brought you the most joy as an artist?

BRENNAND: Oh, wow. I mean, the whole process of making this film brought me so much joy, as it also brought me so much maturity and learning how to deal with such a hard thing. I mean, and, and the harder I researched and the shattered I was the stronger I got and more certain I was that I had to tell this story. So like, I can tell you like everyone in the crew who participated in this film, they were so, I mean, committed, they felt like a mission and a purpose to tell this story. So the whole process was so magical to do it really, I feel blessed to have been able to, to do this and as a woman to tell a story from a female perspective, and you know, to honor us and our stories and our bodies and the representation of femininity.

Manas

Like Follow Followed Drama Release Date May 15, 2025 Runtime 101 minutes Director Mariana Brennand Fortes Writers Mariana Brennand Fortes, Felipe Sholl, Antônia Pellegrino, Marcelo Grabowsky, Carolina Benevides, Camila Agustini Producers Carolina Benevides, Mariana Brennand Fortes

Cast

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• Jamilli Correa Danielle
• Fátima Macedo Marcielle
• Rômulo Braga Marcílio
• Dira Paes Aretha

Genres Drama Powered by Expand Collapse

• Interviews
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• Manas

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