Red Cross

Manuel’s mother, Petra, lives in Berlin. She is in a coma as a result of chemotherapy treatment. Tarso and Petra have been divorced since Manuel (17) was 5 years old. Manuel and Tarso come to Germany to be with Petra during her illness. They stay together in her old apartment.

Another woman also occasionally lives there: K., a beautiful, enigmatic and aloof Asian. Petra’s disease is of no interest to Manuel whereas Tarso visits Petra obsessively in the clinic. Sharing the same space with Tarso is hard for Manuel. Their previous relationship was based on “visits only”. Manuel is overcome by a sense of emptiness. Meanwhile, Manuel develops an erotic desire for K., in fact a transsexual, who helps him discover Petra’s body...

His first feature, »Body Rice« (2006), gained Hugo Vieira da Silva first international attention: the full-length feature obtained six international prizes - including the Best Director Awards in Buenos Aires (BAFICI) and Mexico City (FICCO) and a Special Mention of the Jury at the Official Competition in Locarno - and was selected for more than 10 competitive sections. He received the Nipkow Grant fellowship in 2003 for a three-month stay in Berlin in order to develop a project there. In 2007, Hugo was selected for another project development program, the Binger Program in Amsterdam.

Hugo Vieira da Silva studied law at the Catholic University of Oporto before he enrolled at the Escola Superior de Teatro e Cinema in Lisbon from which he graduated in 1999. Born 1974 in Oporto (Portugal), he currently lives and works in Berlin.