My wife Carol and I went on a trip around the world in 2010-2011, and we were looking for an interesting way to tell about it. We wanted to tell about capoeira not only to capoeiristas, but also reveal this art to others and show it from a different perspective. It's about a complex connection with the Master, discipline, and also my self-perception about the future of capoeira and a strengthening role of women in it. At the end of the movie I wanted to show a portrait of an ideal student. For me it's not the one who is in the shadow of the Master, but the one who surpasses him, the one who finds his own way in capoeira and plays with the teacher on the same level.

I love traveling, expanding my horizons, and learning new cultures from the inside, by watching ordinary people. Traveling is always an unexpected amazing experience. And, of course, on my trips I teach my views on capoeira if I am asked.

Of course! Capoeira is the art of interacting with each other. Game is the relationship between two people in the Roda. That's why we needed the relationships between the main characters and this was also the way of attracting non-capoeristas to see the movie and at the same time to discover the art of capoeira.

Ella is a fictional character, played by Portuguese actress Isabelle Zua. My character is such a chauvinist who always puts his own ego first and somewhat disrespectfully treats his wife. But don't compare my character with me, this is not who I am. I sacrificed my real personality to show the imperfection of the modern system in capoeira. The main character is my ideal vision of capoeira. My Master, Mestre Nestor Capoeira, always told me that capoeira has a feminine essence. So, we created the image of a foreign black girl who is learning capoeira from a white Brazilian teacher in New York, and then later becomes his wife. This was also our way to show the
relationships between the student and the teacher in capoeira.

From the beginning and to its end – about 8 months – it fully paid for itself. We earned money teaching classes and selling souvenirs: CD, DVD, pants, shirts and musical instruments.

No sponsors. Only capoeira communities that we came across along the way. Even the equipment for the movie was bought for the money earned on a journey. We asked ANCINE (Brazilian National Film Agency) for help to organize a post-production: they gave us a loan, which we had to return after the production was completed.

The film premiered at the 40th São Paulo International Film Festival. But the first presentation of the movie was held in Capoeirasia in November 2016. This was a very important moment for me – the first time I showed the film to more than 200 capoeiristas. I was very nervous, I didn't know how they would take it. Especially considering that some of the characters from the movie were present there at the audience – Mestre Cabello, Mestre Edan and other capoeiristas from Israel. Then there was another show at the 38th Havana Film Festival, and finally, in April, there was a big premiere in Rio de Janeiro, attended by more than 370 people. Now the film is available on the Internet: on Amazon, Vimeo and on the cable channel CURTA! In Brazil.

We are still trying to promote the movie on different film festivals, and are expecting feedback from them. We're also trying to promote it on the internet so that more people can see it. I also organize presentations and discussions among capoeristas regarding the capoeira problems that were shown in the movie.

It all started right after my mother and I created the documentary about Mestre Leopoldina in 2005. I fell in love with the process of creating movies about capoeira. Right after that, I released my first DVD: "The Nestor Capoeira School". Then YouTube opened up to me the enormous potential of the Internet and online videos to be able to reach capoeristas all over the world right at their homes. I got really motivated and it pushed me to work harder on it. Another reason why I started making films is that capoeira itself is an audio-visual art. Therefore, it's very valuable for me to capture the movements of capoeira in a roda and music in the form of a movie. My mom makes movies as well, she influenced me a lot. But she did not teach me, I just watched a lot of films and kept trying. Even though, I could always ask for help from the more experienced people, just like in capoeira.

Trips like that teach a lot. I tried to show the main lessons in the movie.

It's hard to predict emotions. Each person will feel something according to his or her background. But in general, the main idea was to impress the audience by how much capoeira has spread around the world. I would like the non-capoeiristas to rethink what they know about this art. I would like the capoeira community to realize how difficult it still is to be a woman in capoeira. I would like to see the girls who are engaged in capoeira to start defending their positions inside and outside of the roda. I would like every capoeirista to rethink their relationships with the master. This is for a start!