Synopsis
Inside the silent hum of a medical machine, Rosa, a solitary woman in her fifties, is instructed to summon a happy memory. In a mental odyssey through her subconscious Rosa encounters her eccentric mother, and together they embark on a delirious journey, inventing joys and the happy memories that never existed.
The project I Built a Rocket Imagining Your Arrival was born in 2017 at the Cena 15 Laboratory of the Porto Iracema das Artes School, where Taís Monteiro and Pedro Cândido developed the first version of the screenplay, then titled Amores Paraguayos. Maurício Macêdo joined the project at its genesis and invited Janaína Marques to take on the direction. Upon joining the team, Janaína proposed a decisive shift, moving the protagonism to Rosa and transforming the narrative into a mental journey, a gesture that resonated directly with the context of isolation during the pandemic and redefined the film’s overall approach, a process further refined during its participation in BrLab. Throughout its development, the project was recognized in key industry spaces, including the CENA 15 and BrLab 2020 labs, First Cut Lab Brasil 2022, where it was a finalist for the Cabíria Award – Women and Audiovisual 2020, and Ventana Sur 2022, where it received the WIP Latam Paradiso Award.
I Built a Rocket Imagining Your Arrival is a production by Moçambique Audiovisual and Delírio Filmes, with sponsorship from the Government of Ceará, through the Secretariat of Culture, funded by the Aldir Blanc Law, and by BNDES. The film is supported by Instituto Mirante de Arte e Cultura, Instituto Dragão do Mar, Projeto Paradiso, Show Me The Fund, the Embassy of Brazil in Berlin, and Instituto Guimarães Rosa. International sales are handled by Patra Spanou Film, and national distribution is carried out by Moçambique Audiovisual with consultancy by Fistaile.
Cast
Verônica Cavalcanti
Rosa
Luciana Souza
Dalva
Sílvia Moura
Nurse/Consuelo
Fabíola Líper
Ms. Juju
Christiane de Lavor
Gislane
Jéssica Teixeira
Jéssica
Lua Arellano
Rosa child
Ridson Reis
Jonas
Pedro Domingues
Francisco
Paulo Ess
Doctor / Sheriff
Max Eluard
André
Higor Fernandes
Police officer
Osiel Gomes
Radio Host (Presenter)
Milena Gadelha
Radio Host (Expert)
Marta Aurélia
Radio Host (Sexy Lady)
Crew
Director
Janaína Marques
Producer
Maurício Macêdo
Original Idea
Taís Monteiro, Pedro Cândido
Screenplay
Xenia Rivery, Pablo Arellano, Taís Monteiro, Pedro Cândido
Executive Producers
Isabela Veras, Maurício Macêdo
Cinematography
Ivo Lopes Araújo
Production Design
Patrícia Passos
Editing
Fred Benevides, Luísa Marques
Colorist
Pedro Dulci
Sound Recording
Moabe Filho, Pedrinho Moreira
Sound Design and Mixing
Homer Mora
1st Assistant Director
Filipe Oliveira
Production Manager
Muniz Filho
Costume Design
Isac Bento
Makeup and Hair
Elen Barbosa
Casting
Nataly Rocha
Producers
Taís Monteiro, Pedro Cândido
Associate Producers
Xenia Rivery, Umbral Sonora, Murilo Hauser
Production Companies
Delírio Filmes, Moçambique Audiovisual
