Arid Zone

10 10
2018
75min

Fifteen years after living as an exchange student in Arizona, filmmaker Fernanda Pessoa returns to the United States to question the identity of this country on the eve of Trump's election.

AWARDS: Honorable Mention. Dok Leipzig

OFFICIAL SELECTIONS: Dok Leipzig/ DocsBarcelona

Arid Zone. Dismantling the concept of "Americanism"

How is it to be a foreigner in United States’ most conservative city? In 2001, Brazilian director Fernanda Pessoa was 15 years old and experienced being a foreign exchange student for one year in Mesa, Arizona, considered USA’s most conservative city.

15 years later – and two months before Donald Trump’s election – she’s back to try to understand her experience there and the conservative ideas regarding topics like the Mexican border, the cowboy lifestyle, religiosity and patriotism.