Nuits du Sertao
(Noites do Sertao)

Nights of the Sertao presents the ‘sertao’, an uncultivated, solitary and hostile region, and the strange relationships between its inhabitants: unusual loves, sleepless nights filled with unfulfilled desires, lost dreams and the determining presence of nature. Abandoned by her husband, the beautiful and fragile Lalinha lives on the Buriti Bom farm with her father-in-law and two sisters-in-law, Maria Behi and Maria da Gloria. One day Miguel, a veterinary surgeon, turns up on the farm. Maria da Gloria immediately falls in love with him. A neighbouring farmer, Gualberto, is interested in Gloria, who finally gives in. She has given up hope of Miguel coming back for her. Lalhina and Maria da Gloria, while waiting for their love, grow closer and end up having homosexual relations. But Lalhina, attracted by her father-in-law, gives in to him and leaves for the city. That same night, Miguel reappears and asks Maria da Gloria to marry him. The film is based on the story Buriti by Joao Guimaraes Rosa, one of Brazil’s most important writers.