Pedágio - A Mother's Misguided Love

From the sharp mind of Brazilian director Carolina Markowicz comes "Pedágio" (Toll), one of the most uniquely textured dramas out of Latin America recently. Set in the polluted industrial hub of Cubatão, São Paulo, the film follows Suellen, a toll booth attendant struggling to make ends meet. Her world is thrown into perceived crisis when she realizes her teenage son, Tiquinho, is gay.

Surrounded by a conservative community and deeply distressed, Suellen turns to an expensive church-led "gay conversion therapy" retreat to cure her son. To fund this exorbitant fee, she compromises her integrity by agreeing to aid a gang of thieves at her toll booth. The stark tragedy here isn't just the homophobia; it's that Suellen believes she is acting out of profound maternal love while actively damaging her son.

Maeve Jinkings delivers a powerfully complex performance as Suellen, balancing the absurdity of the premise with heartbreaking emotional heft. It is an extraordinary, pitch-black look at structural prejudice.