DON'T CALL ME SON

"Poignant and energetic … turns a potentially bleak subject into a warmhearted study of genetics, gender and the true meaning of home." – Hollywood Reporter

Seventeen-year-old Pierre lives with his working-class family in Brazil, plays in a band, has sex at parties and occasionally tries on women's clothing and makeup in secret: like most 17-year-olds, he's exploring his identity in all its facets. All that is upturned when Pierre's beloved mother, Aracy, is arrested and he learns that she stole him from a hospital when he was a newborn. After years of searching, Pierre's wealthy biological parents Gloria and Matheus have tracked him down and Pierre must now contend not only with the comfortable but conservative new life they offer him, but also with the new identity they thrust on him.

In a fascinating casting decision that underscores the film's deliberately nebulous take on parentage and the concept of nature vs nurture, Daniela Nefussi plays both Pierre's mothers – Aracy and Gloria – almost unrecognisably and with impressive distinctions in characterisation. Following on from director Anna Muylaert's The Second Mother (MIFF 2015), this is a warm, lively and touching film investigating themes of gender fluidity, class, motherhood, adolescence and family.

"Daniela Nefussi ... embodies the true conceptual anchor of Don't Call Me Son to perfection." – The House Next Door

Screens with Problem Play.