A sophisticated drama about queerness in working-class Brazil
Suellen works as a toll booth attendant outside of São Paulo while her queer son, Antonio, uploads flamboyant videos online. Ashamed of the videos and ridiculed by her colleagues, Suellen is distraught by her son’s sexual orientation. When a coworker suggests that Antonio should seek help from a foreign pastor-guru who runs a conversion therapy program, Suellen raises money to cover the program’s expensive fees by helping criminals target the wealthy commuters passing through her toll booth.
Maeve Jinkings delivers a fierce performance as Suellen in this formally sophisticated realist drama. Set within a bleak industrial landscape, Toll’s different narratorial threads weave together a meditative portrait of familial love, class, religious pressure, and queer emancipation.
A bold statement on conservative, homophobic society, the film utilizes uncomfortable humor (and family drama) to create an unflinching social commentary on the current state of affairs in Brazil.”
Louisa Moore Screen Zealots
Best Actor, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Art Direction, Rio de Janeiro International Film Festival, 2029, br
Best Feature Film, Rome Film Festival, 2023, it
Emerging Talent Award, Toronto International Film Festival, 2023, ca
Carolina Markowicz
Carolina Markowicz is a Brazilian director and screenwriter based in São Paulo. Her early career is defined by a number of award-winning short films, including Tatuapé Mahal Tower which was awarded ‘best short film’ over 15 times. She was invited to join the Toronto International Film Festival Talent Lab, where she worked with mentors including Wim Wenders. Her short film The Orphan (O Órtão) won the 2018 Queer Palm award at Cannes. Toll is her second feature-length film.
