Cattle Callers

10 10
2004
71min

Portuguese

English

Country: Brazil

Original Title: Aboio

This compelling documentary captures not only the music but also the soul of a vanishing way of life shaped by endurance, solitude, and rhythm, of the traditional chant of cowboys guiding cattle across the backlands.

Portuguese
English
Country: Brazil
Original Title: Aboio

AWARDS: Best Feature Film Direction. Femina International Women's Film Festival/ Best Brazilian feature film. International Documentary Film Festival É Tudo Verdade/ Best Soundtrack and Best Sound Edition. CinePE/ Honorable Juri Mention at FICA – International Ambiental Film Festival/ Best Film and Director. SESC/SATED/ Best realization. International Ethnography Film Fest/ Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Soundtrack. Festcinepacoti

OFFICIAL SELECTION: Visions du Réel/ MoMA Doc Festival/ The Guadalajara International Film Festival/ Karlovy Vary International Film Festival/ RIDM – Montreal International Documentary Festival/ Time Documentary Festival/ Constructing Views Fest: Experimental Film and Video from Brazil - New Museum/ Brazilian Contemporary Film Festival - Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum/ International Festival É Tudo Verdade/ CinePE/ FICA - International Festival of Environmental Cinema/ International Ethnographic Film Exhibition/ FAM - Florianópolis Audiovisual Mercosul/ Film Cycle of the International Conference on Agrarian Reform and Rural Development/ FilmFest - Jornada Guimarães Rosa/ Panorama Coisa de Cinema/ FesticinePacoti/ Indie2005 - World Cinema Show / International Film Festival of Rio/ FestCine Goiânia/ FilmFest of Tiradentes/ Primeiro Plano – Film Festival of Juiz de Fora/ CINUSP Unreleased Films Week/ Dockanema - Documentary Film Festival of Mozambique/ Cine//B Festiva/ BrasilCine - Festival of Brazilian Cinema of Scandinavia

Cattle Callers - Songs of survival from Brazil’s forgotten cowboys

In northeast Brazil, "Aboio" is both a tool and a tradition, the melodic chant used by cowboys to herd cattle under blistering skies. This evocative documentary offers a lyrical journey through the lives of these men, rooted in a culture shaped by music, hardship, and historical pride.

As modernity encroaches, their way of life teeters on the edge of disappearance. Through their voices, the film becomes a tribute to resilience and cultural memory, echoing the broader stories of labor, identity, and rural tradition in Brazil.