Fourteen-year-old Nego and fifteen-year-old Cocada meet every day at a petrol station near their favela in Pernambuco where they try to make a little money to support themselves and their families.

Cocada, whose father was assassinated, dreams of becoming a truck driver while he washes the windows of cars, grazes pigs at a waste dump or makes bricks. Nego lives from hand to mouth with his mother and nine siblings, which is why he helps them eke out a living. Besides begging from long-distance buses, he also does temporary work as an errand boy and this doesn’t leave him much time for school.

The world of these two boys, who are old before their time, has little in common with how the people they exchange a few words with now and then at the petrol station would imagine childhood to be. Both of them believe, however, that they will be able to fulfill their dreams. One boy’s dream is a driving license and the cab of a truck while the other wants his own house made from corn husks.

The two directors of this film gently introduce us to the world of both boys, whose everyday lives we seem to observe without being seen.

The captivating camerawork and narration reminiscent of a feature film have helped this picture make its mark at several film festivals worldwide.

(Camden)