Reel Suspects Acquires Berlinale Generation Title ‘My Name is Baghdad’ (EXCLUSIVE)

By Elsa Keslassy

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Reel Suspects has acquired international sales rights to Caru Alves de Souza’s coming-of-age tale “My Name is Baghdad,” which will world premiere at the Berlin Film Festival in the Generation 14 section.

The film was produced by Manjericão Filmes and Tangerina Entretenimento. It follows a 17-year-old female skater named Baghdad who lives in a working-class neighborhood in the city of São Paulo, Brazil. When she meets a group of female skateboarders, her life suddenly changes. The film is loosely based on the book “Bagda, o Skatista” by Toni Brandão.

De Souza said the film came from her “desire to work with stories and everyday situations lived by characters from a working class neighborhood on the outskirts of the city of São Paulo, seeking the poetry that exists in prosaic situations.” She said she was also drawn to the idea of portraying “strong and unusual female characters.”

“We have been following Caru’s work for a while. The non-professional cast in ‘My Name is Baghdad’ brings to life with a vibrant energy the everyday reality of the youth of São Paulo’s working-class streets, bearing witness to its current socio-economical issues,” said Matteo Lovadina, CEO of .

“My Name is Baghdad” participated in several workshops and received the 2017 Latin America Fund Award from the Tribeca Film Institute.

The will take place Feb. 20 to March 1 and will open with “My Salinger Year.”

Reel Suspects also recently picked up “La Fortaleza,” Jorge Thielen Armand’s Venezuelan film, which competes at Rotterdam.