Man Marked for Death, Twenty Years Later

Coutinho’s film investigates the human cost. It’s a film that morphed into another through 20 years of Brazilian political history. Originally a feature film shot in 1964 with land workers from the peasant league actors, it was thought out as a reconstruction of the events that lead to the assassination of João Pedro Teixeira, political leader and family man in Sapé, Paraíba, dismissed as a dangerous communist radical by land owners and the conservative government. Halfway through the shoot, the military coup happened in March/April 1964, production was shut down, equipment and film stock confiscated. Eduardo Coutinho went back 20 years later to reconnect (towards the end of the regime) with what was left of that family. We soon realise that the widow and mother of nine is one of cinema’s most amazing female characters: Elizabeth Teixeira, who is now 100 years old in 2026, a force of nature. Fiction, documentary, essay, an unforgettable film. I never really miss an opportunity to screen Cabra Marcado Para Morrer, in Brazil or abroad. Happy to screen it at SFF.

-Kleber Mendonça Filho, Curator