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Actress Shirley Cruz, recognized for her acclaimed performance in Anna Muylaert’s 2025 Berlin Film Festival entry “The Best Mother in the World,” has been cast in the upcoming trans coming-of-age feature “The She-Devil.” Directed by Clara Ferrer and Tainá Bevilacqua, the film adapts Eli Lemos de Oliveira’s poetic autofiction novel and follows an 11-year-old trans boy navigating identity and masculinity in 1990s Rio de Janeiro’s working-class neighborhoods. Cruz will portray Aunt Iara, a pivotal maternal figure who guides the protagonist through childhood’s complexities.
The feature-length project is currently in development alongside a companion short film titled “The Death of the She-Devil,” which is in post-production. Both projects, which star Cruz in the same role, explore themes of gender identity, belonging, and the relationship between a young person struggling with assigned femininity and the transformative woman who provides emotional guidance. The narrative centers on the protagonist’s fascination with an imaginary neighborhood vigilante and his eventual identification with this mysterious figure.
Production involves multiple Brazilian entities, including newly founded independent company Capivara Movies, which is producing through executive producer Amina Sophia Nogueira. Producer Laura Fazoli and distributor Retrato Filmes complete the Brazilian production team, with international partnerships through Cajamanga and Dobra. According to producers, the story examines universal themes about identity and mentorship while grounding itself in a specific cultural and geographical context.
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Originally reported by Variety →
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