Housemaids

“No other film has ever managed to portray as deeply what is ingrained in the Brazilian unconscious.”—Luiz Carlos Merten, Estadão

It’s all but obligatory for middle- and upper-class families in Brazil to employ a housemaid, and the country has more domestic workers than any other. Gabriel Mascaro’s powerful and sensitive film Housemaids directly addresses this long-unspoken issue, which some describe as a one of the most prominent remnants of the country’s colonial past. Mascaro asked seven adolescents from different regions and economic levels in Brazil to film their housemaids for a week (one story follows a housemaid who works for another housemaid). Building the film from this footage, Mascaro uncovers the complex relationships that exist between housemaids and their employers (who often confuse intimacy and power), offering a memorable, emotional, and revealing portrait of contemporary Brazil. The release of Housemaids in March 2013 coincided with the passing of an incredibly controversial new law that gave domestic workers in Brazil greater rights and pay, making the film part of a larger national discussion. (76 mins., video)