Official Competition

Toll (Pedágio)

Carolina Markowicz
LGBTQIA+ Female Director 101 min Brazil, Portugal
Book a ticket

Synopsis

A sophisticated drama about queerness in working-class Brazil

Suellen works as a toll booth attendant outside of São Paulo while her queer son, Antonio, uploads flamboyant videos online. Ashamed of the videos and ridiculed by her colleagues, Suellen is distraught by her son’s sexual orientation. When a coworker suggests that Antonio should seek help from a foreign pastor-guru who runs a conversion therapy program, Suellen raises money to cover the program’s expensive fees by helping criminals target the wealthy commuters passing through her toll booth.

Maeve Jinkings delivers a fierce performance as Suellen in this formally sophisticated realist drama. Set within a bleak industrial landscape, Toll’s different narratorial threads weave together a meditative portrait of familial love, class, religious pressure, and queer emancipation.

Accessible from 16 and over

Cast/Avec

  • Maeve Jinkings
  • Kauan Alvarenga
  • Thomás Aquino
  • Aline Marta Maia
  • Isac Graça

Screenplay

  • Carolina Markowicz

Cinematographer

  • Luis Armando Arteaga

Sound

  • André Bellentani

Music

  • Filipe Derado

Production

  • Biônica Filmes
  • O Som e a Fúria

Screenings

Friday 01 March 2024 20:30
Lieux : Cinémathèque
Audio : Portuguese
Subtitles : English
Screening : Public Screening
Book a ticket
Wednesday 06 March 2024 20:30
Lieux : Ciné Utopia
Audio : Portuguese
Subtitles : French
Screening : Public Screening
Book a ticket
Thursday 07 March 2024 10:30
Lieux : Cinémathèque
Audio : Portuguese
Subtitles : English
Screening : Public Screening
Book a ticket

Critics

A bold statement on conservative, homophobic society, the film utilizes uncomfortable humor (and family drama) to create an unflinching social commentary on the current state of affairs in Brazil.”
Louisa Moore Screen Zealots

Carolina Markowicz

Carolina Markowicz
Carolina Markowicz

Carolina Markowicz is a Brazilian director and screenwriter based in São Paulo. Her early career is defined by a number of award-winning short films, including Tatuapé Mahal Tower which was awarded ‘best short film’ over 15 times. She was invited to join the Toronto International Film Festival Talent Lab, where she worked with mentors including Wim Wenders. Her short film The Orphan (O Órtão) won the 2018 Queer Palm award at Cannes. Toll is her second feature-length film.

More about the director

Filmography

  • Toll 2023
  • Carvão 2022
  • Ninguém Tá Olhando (TV series) 2019
See more films

More movies