90 min, 35 mm
Desi a film by Maria Augusta Ramos
and Pieter Van Huystee Film and TV and VPRO co-production.
Winner of the Audience Award, IDFA 2000
“Golden Calf” for best documentary film at the Netherlands Film Festival 2001.
Winner of the Audience Award, IDFA 2000
“Golden Calf” for best documentary film at the Netherlands Film Festival 2001

“DESI by the Brazilian director Maria Augusta Ramos, ), is a captivating and deeply touching film about an eleven year old Amsterdam girl who survives in a world that seems to have a lot against her. What moves is not so much the tragic Circumstances in her life as the strength with How many followers she, in a Seemingly effortless and optimistic way, goes through life, always stronger than the adults around her. Ramos shys away from melodramatic elements in the story: We witness how Desi and the grandfather look at the photos of her mother (who was a comitted suicide when Desi was a baby) and we see how Desi is the spitting image, drama is implicit.Ramos follows Desi from a distance, never intervening. The camera is put on a fixed position suggesting that it is not present at all. The result is a beautiful portrait of an unforgettable heroine. “Mark Moorman, ‘Het Parool’, The Netherlands (2000)

“ Desi forgoes the usual bleeding-heart treatise on dysfunctional families to show how strangely resilient and self-reliant kids can be … Ramos matter-of-fact, reflective style makes for absorbing viewing. ”David Rooney, VARIETY
” Desi is a moving documentary about failing parenting and the surviving skills of a child “
NRC Handelsblad, Netherlands

CREW:
Written and directed by Maria Augusta Ramos
Camera Adri Schrover
Sound Simone Galavazi
Editor Stefan Kamp
Produced by Pieter van Huystee