Canuto's Transformation

In a Mbyá-Guarani community between Brazil and Argentina, everyone knows Canuto, a man who many years ago suffered the dreaded transformation into a Jaguar, and then died tragically. Now, a film delves into his story. Why did this happen to him? But more importantly—who in the village should play his role?  

'We have crafted this film with the intention of bringing the viewer into a journey with us. The journey crosses frontiers: Brazil/Argentina, fiction/documentary, human/animal, person/character. Our main character, who lived in the 80’s, since his childhood showed the signs of the dreaded disease which is the transformation into a jaguar, a dangerous animal. The story concerns the risks of stepping outside humanity, outside the bonds that unite a community, and connects people. We find, in the act of filmmaking itself, key elements that help us understand what that transformation means. And with that, we approach the drama of telling that story, with the strong complicity of the entire Mbyá-Guarani community that lived through the events narrated, decades ago. Along the way, we find unexpected things: a child actor who is the closest incarnation of the character we could possibly hope for, a phantasmagoric wooden structure in the centre of the community that makes us think about the world outside, and the colonial story of violence that crosses the community, and events that reshape the lives of everyone involved.' - Ariel KUARAY ORTEGA and Ernesto DE CARVALHO