The Riverbank

A Margem do Rio

Director: Enock Carvalho, Matheus Farias
Country: Brazil, Germany

German Premiere
2026 | 117 min. | Portuguese
Subtitles: German, English

Cast_ Caique Copque, Ítalo Martins, Robério Diógenes, Artia Lauandah, Renna Costa Screenplay_ Enock Carvalho, Matheus Farias Camera_ Luciana Baseggio Producer_ Enock Carvalho, Maurício Macêdo, Matheus Farias, Letícia Friedrich, Flavia Oertwig, Silvia Cruz Rights_ Tama Film Produktion

The tropical watersides of the Brazilian port city of Recife, turned into a fascinating and dangerous liminal world of fear and desire.

Because his parents refuse to accept his homosexuality, Izaquiel has left home. He now lives among a queer circle of friends on the margins of society. As his day job, he recently started working as a caretaker at a rather unlikely place: an evangelical church run with an iron fist by pastor Eurico. At night, he cruises the mangrove forests near the city, where he encounters Jeremías, an enigmatic and attractive fisherman. Their passionate nighttime affair must remain secret in the highly conservative world of day, as they are under constant threat of violent attacks. But can these two worlds really be kept as separate as Izaquiel thinks?

We are familiar with Recife’s cruising spots from Kleber Mendonça Filho’s ›The Secret Agent‹. Both directors of ›The Riverbank‹ worked with him in the past, but here they present a wholly unique and powerful debut.

Director

Matheus Farias and Enock Carvalho are also life partners. As an editor, Matheus worked on ›The Secret Agent‹, as well as the documentary ›Pictures of Ghosts‹, about Recife’s vanished movie palaces. His previous collaborations with Enock, who is also a film critic, include the queer sci-fi short ›Inabitável‹.

Screenings