Written as a part of a film series focusing on the lives of black women in Brazil, Simone follows the wandering thoughts of a young Afro-Brazilian woman as she waits for her lover at a train station.
The film opens with Simone introducing herself to us – “I will tell a story. The story of my character; Simone” – a scene which quietly sets up the dichotomy between reality and dreams that runs throughout the movie; in this case, Simone explains the reality of her working in a telemarketing job against her dreams of working in the theatre.
From what begins as a film that follows the common Western indie-movie trope of ‘introspection on a hand-held camera’, Simone takes a whimsical and refreshing turn as the daydreams of the titular character come to life. These daydreams are the vessel for which the director Renato Candido de Lima investigates a myriad of topics such as slavery, colonialism, stereotypes of black promiscuity and the fetishization of the black body. A modern revue, the short film makes powerful and surprising use of dance and pantomime to at times illustrate, at other times satirise, Simone’s fears and inner thoughts.
Simone is a creative portrayal of all the anxieties prescribed to and bred from waiting. Imaginatively directed and beautifully shot, these Stories provide a much-needed insight into a life that is immediately recognisable, but too often unrepresented.
I’m Morisha. I study Fine Art but I’m mainly bad at it. My work is a mix of films, visual essays and audio installations. They straddle the line between introspection and social criticism. I stand for the marginalized and underrepresented. I want for our communities to be sure in ourselves and the validity of our identities.
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