Carlo’s Cashew Tree

In this Coming-of-Age story, Carlo, an idealistic Art teacher, despite suffering neglect for his teaching subject and homophobic attacks from his colleagues, embarks on a journey with his students to find the answer to the question: What is art?

On the path to discover the answer, a study group of five students face racism, sexism, religious intolerance and the looming presence of criminals trying to destroy their future. But the study group resists!

Carlo’s Cashews Tree is a love letter to both art and the transformative power of teaching, framed by tropical scenery and traditions from the African roots of Bahia, the cultural cradle of Brazil. A story of resistance and courage.

Anyone who watches this cinematic work with such a high production value, on a par with that of the major studios, won’t believe the story behind the scenes.

Everything was produced almost entirely with own funds and with the help and donations of a wide range of people. Be it in the stages of pre-production and production, the purchase of new equipment, the availability of locations, the voluntary work of the actors, the participation of cultural groups and the support of the city council. Only a part of the final post-production was externally funded through the Paulo Gustavo Law.

We, the Braig Brothers team, will be eternally grateful to everyone involved who helped make this cinematic work happen and we are very happy with the impact the project is having in Canavieiras. We have managed to move an entire city in favor of the seventh art, we have found new talents and thus created a new dream for the people of Canavieiras.

The two brothers appear as characters.
In some scenes, the brothers assumed the jobs of an entire technical crew: directing, lighting, filming and recording sound. That’s why for many scenes it wasn’t possible to record a making of.
The brothers’ cinematographic godfather, Rogério Sagui, would sometimes ask the Braig Brothers for making-of material in between his filming hours on Netflix, because he found it fascinating how much production value they managed to produce with so few resources and such a small team (but with a lot of creativity to make up for it).
All the actors are from Bahia and only two (Vertin Moura and Perimar Moura) are from outside Canavieiras.
During the filming of the criminals’ scenes, there was a rumor in the city that shoplifting had started again.
The story is inspired by a real teacher.
Life imitates art: the project was at times sabotaged and devalued by a small group that was actually supposed to defend art and culture.
All of the villainous professor’s phrases are based on real events.
Most of the cast have never been to a cinema. Canavieiras hasn’t had a movie theater in decades.

Teasers and Trailers

Stills

Making of

Images

Videos

For more information, follow Cajueiro’s Instagram and keep up with the project.

• Instagram

Directors	Aiky Braig Tales Braig
Producer	Braig Brothers Ltda
Writers	Ana Valéria Matias Braig Aiky Braig Tales Braig
Executive Producer	Ana Valéria Matias Braig
Original soundtrack	Tales Braig
Cinematography	Aiky Braig
Cast preparation	Tales Braig
Art direction and set design	Aiky Braig
Main Cast	Vertin Moura Alldo Souza Daniel Leal Rafaele Caetano Alves Marx Ribeiro Gabriel Reis Fernanda Teles Perimar Moura
Sound	Daniel Guerreiro Tales Braig Gabriel Reis