Recently awarded a Special Mention by the jury at the last Cannes Film Festival, “A Moça que dançou com o Diabo” revives a folk tale from the interior of São Paulo that has been told for over one hundred years: a teenage girl forbidden by her parents to go to a ball disobeys them and finds herself dancing with the devil. Adapted to the present day Brazilian metropolis – with a surprise ending – it focuses on a city girl at odds with her extremely religious family, and her need for freedom, shaped by adolescent discoveries. In symbolic form, yet extending beyond mere fantasy, this short film brings the complex issue of religious conservatism and fanaticism in present-day Brazil into the public arena. It is the second film by João Paulo Miranda Maria to be screened at the Vila do Conde Curtas Festival, where he presented “Command Action” last year. (PC)