The Blue Trail

Directed by Gabriel Mascaro

Brazil

2025

86 mins

Unclassified 15+

This 2025 Berlinale Grand Jury Prize-winning delight from Gabriel Mascaro (Neon Bull, SFF 2016) sees a remarkable woman try to evade a dystopian fate via a grand Amazonian quest.

The near future. Having lived her 77 years in a small Brazilian town, Tereza (Denise Weinberg) receives a government order to relocate to a senior housing colony – a place from which no one has ever returned. But before agreeing, Tereza decides to fulfil a long-held dream to fly on a plane. Unable to buy a ticket for a flight but undeterred, she hitches a boat ride with skipper Cadu (Rodrigo Santoro, Love Actually), who introduces Tereza to the psychedelic use of a rare blue snail. Her transformative journey through the Amazon’s rivers and tributaries becomes a mind- and destiny-altering one. Says Mascaro: “I wanted to create an interplay between the lyrical and the playful – a post-tropical delirium that blurs the line between dystopia and fantasy.” With its stunning imagery, Mascaro’s unforgettable, anti-authoritarian fable is filled with surprises, delight and magic.

Guest filmmaker introduction and Q&A will take place at the State Theatre screening on Friday 13 June and the State Theatre screening on Saturday 14 June.
Limited seats are available for patrons requiring access for wheelchairs, low vision and hearing loop. Please contact our ticketing team directly on 1300 733 733 or tickets@sff.org.au to complete your booking.

“Gabriel Mascaro’s The Blue Trail is a balmy riverboat ride into the unknown – as well as a bolshy protest against ageism and a warning about possible authoritarian futures, in Brazil and elsewhere”

Jonathan Romney, Screen International

“What’s remarkable about The Blue Trail and makes it such a delight is that despite all the oppression in the air, it’s a movie filled with hope and faith in human resilience at any age”

David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter

“Though one of Mascaro’s messages is undeniably respect for the elderly, the self-liberation Tereza represents could be experienced by people of any age”

Peter Debruge, Variety

Jonathan Romney, Screen International

Tickets

Fri 13 June 2025, 6pm

Past Event

State Theatre

Sat 14 June 2025, 9:15am

Past Event

State Theatre

Sun 15 June 2025, 4:15pm

Past Event

Palace Norton Street - Cinema 3

Palace Norton St - Cinema 3

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Program Strand
Official Competition
Original Title
O ÚLTIMO AZUL
Year
2025
Classification
Unclassified 15+
Country
Brazil, Mexico, Netherlands, Chile
Language
In Portuguese with English subtitles
Director
Gabriel Mascaro
Producer
Rachel Daisy Ellis, Sandino Saravia Vinay
Cast
Denise Weinberg, Rodrigo Santoro, Miriam Socarrás
Screenwriter
Gabriel Mascaro, Tibério Azul
Cinematographer
Guillermo Garza
Editor
Sebastían Sepúlveda, Omar Guzmán
Genre
Human Rights, Fantasy & Sci-Fi, Award Winner, Women’s Stories, Action & Adventure, Central & South America
Premiere
Australian Premiere
Company Credits
Australian Distributor: Palace Films
Official Website
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Sydney Film Festival acknowledges Australia’s First Nations People as the Traditional Owners and Custodians of the land, and pay respect to the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, upon whose Country SFF is based.

We honour the storytelling and culture of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities across Australia.

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