Charcoal

In this dark satire from writer/director Carolina Markowicz, a charcoal-making family struggling to make ends meet on the outskirts of Joanópolis accepts an offer from their dying patriarch’s new nurse: secretly house an on-the-lam Argentinian drug lord in exchange for riches untold. —M.G.

Struggling to keep her small independent charcoal farm afloat and care for her very ill father, Irene accepts an offer to house an on-the-run drug boss in her family home. It is an immediately contentious arrangement: her husband Jairo is skeptical but reckless with their new financial security, and the criminal quickly rebels against the confines of his captivity in their modest home. His presence has an increasingly undeniable influence on their lives, including on their young son Jean. The drug boss’s growing restlessness risks both their exposure and their newfound stability. CHARCOAL is a dark satire about financial exploitation, as well as the moral and personal costs of scaling up the economic ladder. —C.F.

Content Warning: This film contains material that may be difficult for some viewers. Viewer discretion is advised.