Ceará film "Feito pipa" is pre-selected to represent Brazil at the Oscars — Photo: Disclosure/Paris Filmes
The city of Quixadá, where the film "Feito Pipa" was filmed, chosen to represent Brazil in the dispute for a place in the Best International Film category at the 2027 Oscars, has attracted film productions in recent years. The municipality is known for its famous monoliths, such as Pedra da Galinha Choca; the large number of UFO sighting reports; and the farm "Não Me Leaves", which belonged to the writer Rachel de Queiroz.
"Feito Pipa" tells the story of Gugu, an 11-year-old boy passionate about football and raised by his grandmother, Dilma, a retired teacher who gives him freedom and affection. When her health worsens due to Alzheimer's disease, the boy has to deal with the possibility of having to live with his father, Batista, with whom he has a distant relationship.
Bahian actor Yuri Gomes brings little Gugu to life. Actress Teca Pereira plays Dilma, the boy's grandmother, and Lázaro Ramos plays Batista, his father. The work is written by André Araújo and directed by Allan Deberton, two Ceará natives born in Russas, in the interior of Ceará.
The story has as its backdrop and setting the municipality of Quixadá, a city of almost 90 thousand inhabitants in the central hinterland of Ceará, located around 170 kilometers from the capital, Fortaleza. "Feito Pipa" was recorded in rural and urban areas of Quixadá, in locations such as Tapuiará, California and Dom Maurício.
The film "Feito Pipa", chosen to represent Brazil in the search for the 2027 Oscar, takes place in the municipality of Quixadá — Photo: Disclosure
Land of monoliths
The territory of the city of Quixadá is dotted with small and large monoliths - geological structures made up of a single, massive stone or rock. Many are as big as a mountain range, others are small enough to climb with clean hands. Many reports of sightings of unidentified flying objects, known as UFOs, have emerged around the monoliths.
The most famous of the monoliths became known as Galinha da Pedra Choca, due to its similarity with the shape of the bird. The stone is even close to Açude do Cedro, another point of attraction in the area: it is considered the first large dam in Brazil, designed when Pedro II was emperor, and completed in 1906, when the Republic was not even 20 years old.
Wall of Açude do Cedro, the first dam in Brazil, built during the Empire — Photo: Quixadá City Hall
One of these monoliths even houses the headquarters of the Rachel de Queiroz Memorial, in honor of the writer from Ceará who lived seasonally in the city. The building, known as Chalé da Pedra, was built in 1920 on top of the rock, which is located in the middle of a square. (In the photo below)
The rocky group is known as the Natural Monument of the Quixadá Monoliths and, since 2002, it has been an environmental conservation unit in Ceará. With a unique landscape in Brazil, Quixadá also has several activities focused on adventure sports and nature trails.
Although the production was filmed in locations further away from these most famous spots, the striking setting of Quixadá has dams, monoliths and vegetation typical of the caatinga, green in the rainy season and grayish in the dry season, when the plants lose their leaves and go into a kind of "hibernation".
In Quixadá, a memorial houses a collection of the life and work of Rachel de Queiroz — Photo: Alex Pimentel/SVM
In addition to its memorable nature, Quixadá has other highlights: the city is home to the technology campus of the Federal University of Ceará (UFC) and functions as a kind of educational hub for the region, attracting students from neighboring municipalities in the central hinterland.
In recent years, Quixadá has received visits from film crews with some frequency. Films such as "Shaolin do Sertão" and "Welcome to Quixeramobim", by Halder Gomes; "Heavier is the sky", by Petrus Cariry; and even the North American production "Área Q", by Gerson Sanginitto, were recorded there.
UFC Quixadá Campus — Photo: UFC/Reproduction
Abductions, sightings and Rachel de Queiroz's farm
Located about 30 minutes from the headquarters of Quixadá, the Não Me Leaves farm preserves the memory of Rachel de Queiroz, the first woman to enter the Brazilian Academy of Letters. The place was the author's favorite corner and well preserves the spaces that help tell her life: the library, the porch, the living room and the kitchen, for example. There, she wrote several texts.
Even though she lived in Rio de Janeiro, Rachel came to spend time at the property every year. It was there that, in May 1960, she said she saw an unidentified flying object in the sky, surrounded by a "luminous, hazy halo", whose orange light varied in intensity, speed and appearance, always moving in a horizontal direction.
"At least twenty people were with us, in the farm yard, and they all saw what we saw. Workers who arrived for work this morning, and who live a few kilometers away, came to tell us the same thing", wrote Rachel de Queiroz.
"Don't Leave Me" Farm, by writer Racheld e Queiroz — Photo: TV Verdes Mares/Reproduction
Rachel's report is one of the first documented in a series of sightings that made this region of Ceará famous. A book released in 2022, called "UFO cases in Quixadá", brings reports from at least 240 families in the region.
Today, Quixadá is known by ufologists as an area of frequent UFO sighting reports. The fame of the place even served as inspiration for the script for the 2012 film "Área Q", which focuses on ufology.
Road to the Oscar
Lázaro Ramos plays Batista, father of Gugu, actor Yuri Gomes' character in the film "Feito pipa" — Photo: Divulgação/Paris Filmes
The film from Ceará had its world premiere at the Berlinale, the Berlin Film Festival, in February this year, and won the Grand Prize from the International Jury, becoming one of the highlights of the German festival.
The film won five awards at the Gramado Festival, one of the most traditional in Brazil, including best actress for Teca Pereira and Best Supporting Actor for Lázaro Ramos. The film also won the Popular Jury award at the Gramado Festival, being chosen by the public as their favorite film at the event.
The script for "Feito Pipa" was created during the Cinema Laboratory at Escola Porto Iracema das Artes, in Fortaleza. Every year, the laboratory selects six projects and, over the course of seven months, the screenwriters receive financial and creative support, through mentoring with working screenwriters, to improve their scripts.
In the race for the Oscar, the film from Ceará initially competed in a list of 15 films registered and qualified to be the Brazilian representative in the award. From the list, six remained in the pre-selection, from which "Feito Pipa" emerged victorious.
After being selected, the Brazilian film's candidacy will be submitted to the Oscars and will compete alongside films from other countries for a place in the requested categories. The film chosen by Brazil, therefore, may or may not be selected to compete for the award. If chosen, the Brazilian film will compete at the 2027 Oscar ceremony, which is scheduled for March 14, 2027.
Lázaro Ramos, Teca Pereira, Yuri Gomes and the director of the film "Feito Pipa", Allan Deberton — Photo: Disclosure/Paris Filmes
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