My review of Allan Deberton’s *Gugu’s World (Feito Pipa)*, a delicate and moving coming-of-age drama set in the dry landscapes of Ceará, Brazil. With an extraordinary performance by Yuri Gomes, the film introduces a boy whose exuberance, femininity, and confidence transcend conventional gender boundaries. While his grandmother’s fading memory threatens the freedom she has nurtured, his father struggles to accept him as he is. Beautifully observed and emotionally sensitive, the film creates a remarkable protagonist whose vitality and complexity sometimes exceed the dramatic strength of the story surrounding him.
