Stories

LAURA | ESMERALDA | TELMA | ANA | MARTILEIDE

 

TELMA
|Rio de Janeiro|

FICÇÃO


Scene 1: Rio de Janeiro – ext/day
(We hear a samba from the upcoming Carnival in the background)

Aerial view of the city, taking in beaches and beauty spots, until we focus in on the shanty-towns on the mountainsides. We approach the Morro do Colosso, the setting for our story, and, having shown a general view of the locality, we focus yet further in on a shack which stands out by being better looked-after than the others.


Scene 2: Telma’s house – int/day

We pan over the floor of her tiny living-room which is covered with offcuts and Carnival adornments. In close-up, strong, male hands, callused by hard work, help Telma, with a shoe-horn, to put on the shoes that she will be wearing as flag-bearer of the Samba School. She stretches out her legs to show off her shoes.


Telma rises and we see her, from the waist down, strutting from one side to the other.


WE PULL BACK TO REVEAL: EUNICE, a blind woman in her forties, who is sitting in a shabby armchair, listening to her daughter TELMA’s description. TELMA herself is a beautiful 21-year-old.

People who watch the Samba School parades in Rio de Janeiro have no idea that, behind this event, which has become an international tourist attraction involving millions of dollars, small and large-scale dramas take place. For the Carnival of Rio de Janeiro to become what it is today, without losing its basic characteristic as an authentic manifestation of its Brazilian roots, the customs and traditions have been handed down from generation to generation in communities known as Samba Schools, which are usually located in the outskirts, shanty-towns and satellite cities.
It is in one of these scenarios that TELMA’s story unfolds, which is based on real events that took place in 1996. In accordance with her family’s tradition, Telma, at 21, will be the flag-bearer for the Colosso do Rio, a task that she has inherited from her mother Eunice who was one of the finest flag-bearers ever. Telma intends to do her utmost in the parade to win the Golden Standard as an homage to her mother. Long, nightly rehearsals and costume sewing have led to her losing her job at a drugstore where her boss keeps finding her nodding off in the stockroom. MARLI her neighbour is concerned about her and tries to find her another job.


The great day has arrived. The Colosso is parading. The audience rises, applauds and sings along with gusto. Telma and her escort, the Master of Ceremonies, Bida dance with distinctive elegance and draw applause from the crowd. Telma steps back to curtsy, but trips on a TV cable lying across her path. The School’s flag crashes down on top of her. She lies on the ground, humiliated and bewildered, and bursts into sobs. But she soon clambers up with her head held high. The crowd applauds wildly in sympathy. Telma goes on her way, Her face bathed in tears. She looks up towards the jury and notices a woman writing something down. At the end of the parade the commentary on Telma’s fall is soon widespread. Exhausted and crestfallen, the members of the Colosso take off their costumes and eat and drink. Telma disappears and is found hours later by Marli in her house.


Unable to overcome her misfortune, Telma becomes so depressed that she tries to commit suicide on the day the votes are counted. She takes formicide and is discovered by her mother, slumped on the floor. She is rushed to a hospital where a stomach-pump saves her life. Marli arrives at the hospital with the results of the competition. The Colosso is champion and in the three envelopes selected by the jury, the category “MC and Flag-bearer” has received 10, or maximum points. The envelope of the woman who noticed the fall has been discarded. Telma is overcome with joy and relief and lives another day to repeat her performance at the Champion’s Parade.


DOCUMENTARY

Veterans of the Samba Schools talk of how they transmit their experience to new generations and the young people tell of the responsibility they bear in keeping up the traditions.