Onda Nova
José Antonio Garcia, Ícaro Martins · 1983 · 103 min
A rambunctious queer sports comedy banned after its festival premiere by Brazil’s military dictatorship, Onda Nova sets its scene in São Paulo just after the legalization of women’s soccer following a 40-year prohibition. The newly formed Gayvotas Football Club face tough competition on the field and, at all times, the prejudices of a conservative society, but in the course of their first season find themselves emerging as a media phenomenon. (Several of the nation’s footballers flocked to the film’s defense: Walter Casagrande, Wladimir, and Pita all come in for cameos, as does commentator Osmar Santos.) The dictatorship would be ousted within a couple of years, but the unruly spirit of Onda Nova lives on.