With all of Netflix‘s films at the Venice Film Festival and Telluride this year, it’s easy for the second film of an upstart director to get lost in the mix. However, based on reviews from the festival, Alexandre Moratto‘s “7 Prisoners” deserves all the recognition it can get.
After its world premiere in Venice and Telluride, “7 Prisoners” looks poised to be a breakout hit for its Brazilian-American director. Moratto’s follow-up to his 2018 feature debut “Sócrates” takes on the terrifying world of human trafficking in Brazil and one young man’s attempt to escape it. Ramin Bahrani (“Chop Shop“) and Fernando Meirelles (“City Of God”) are producers, so clearly, there are some heavyweights behind the film as well.
Here’s the film’s official synopsis:
To provide a better life for his family in the country, 18-year-old Mateus accepts a job in a junkyard in São Paulo for his new boss, Luca. But when he and a few other boys become trapped in the dangerous world of human trafficking, Mateus will be forced to decide between working for the very man who imprisoned him or risk his and his family’s future.
“7 Prisoners” sees Moratto reunite with his leading man from “Sócrates,” Christian Malheiros. The director-actor tandem received several accolades for their work on “Sócrates,” including a Best Male Lead nomination for Malheiros and a Someone To Watch Award victory for Moratto at the 2019 Independent Spirit Awards.
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The new film also stars Rodrigo Santoro, Bruno Rocha, Victor Julian, Lucas Oranmian, Cecília Homem de Mello, and Dirce Thomaz.
“7 Prisoners” has its North American premiere at TIFF when it screens in the Contemporary World Cinema section. Following that, Netflix has it lined up for a release in November.
Check out the new trailer for “7 Prisoners” below.