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“A saudade é isto mesmo; é o passar e repassar das memórias antigas.”
— Machado de Assis
LOGLINE
DUALIDADE is a multidisciplinary storytelling project: a zine, short film, and activation exploring the duality of belonging to two places at once. Through visual art, personal essays, and cinematic storytelling, the project captures the emotional complexity of growing up between Brazil and New York.
INTRO
Hello, my name is Raissa, and I’m a Brazilian-born, New York-raised storyteller and producer. My passion for storytelling began when I was 12 and moved from my small beach town, Ubatuba, São Paulo, to Westchester, New York. Living between two worlds deeply influenced my voice as both a writer and producer.
As a teenager, I started a blog called Frontline, where I shared anonymous stories from women about trauma, abuse, sex, and relationships. That early work taught me how powerful storytelling can be in creating understanding and connection. Later, I joined Hypebeast as a Content Manager and Contributing Editor, where I focused on amplifying BIPOC femme voices, both in writing and behind the camera. Today, I’m channeling that experience into a deeply personal creative project that merges my literary, visual, and cultural passions.
SYNOPSIS
DUALIDADE explores the beauty and tension of belonging to two cultures yet never fully fitting into either. The project consists of two interconnected parts:
- The Zine: Contains a collection of five original personal essays. Each essay touches on the duality of being from two places at once, traumatic family histories, immigration, and complex relationships. The zine includes art and features by and of young Latine artists, with a focus on Brazilian creatives, showcasing the richness and struggle of the immigrant experience.
- The Short Film: A visual representation of one of the zine’s essays, the film explores the emotional and narrative depth of living between two worlds. It captures the sensations of dissociation, saudade, and cultural tension inherent in the duality experience.
Filmed between Ubatuba and New York, the visual language of DUALIDADE contrasts two atmospheres: Brazil sequences are vibrant, warm, alive, full of color and energy. New York sequences are cooler, muted, and heavy, reflecting the emotional distance and complexity of adapting to a place that never fully feels your own.
ARTISTIC VISION
At its core, DUALIDADE is about saudade. The deep, aching nostalgia for the place you come from and the dissociation of finding yourself in a completely different world you don’t fully understand. It’s about home, memory, and identity, about what it means to exist between cultures and to carry both within you. The project invites reflection on what it means to belong and how art, storytelling, and community can bridge the emotional and physical distance between where we come from and where we are now.
BUDGET
DUALIDADE is an independently produced short film and zine that will rely on your support to be completed with a budget of $25,000 consisting of:
- Cast & Crew Rates— $8,000
- Production Expenses — $6,000
- Zine Design & Production — $5,000
- Activations and Submissions — $6,000
We are currently fundraising to cover pre-production, travel, printing, and activation costs. Every contribution will directly support the cast, crew, and collaborators bringing this project to life.
DISTRIBUTION & IMPACT
Once completed, DUALIDADE will premiere through an immersive pop-up exhibition and screening, followed by submissions to film festivals that celebrate multicultural and diasporic storytelling.
The zine and short film will be distributed both physically and digitally, reaching audiences in Brazil, New York, and beyond. Long-term, DUALIDADE will serve as the foundation for the incredible creatives involved and a starting point for my storytelling journey, laying the groundwork for future projects that explore identity, belonging, and cultural duality.
Organizer
