A fresh spin on a familiar tale, Gabe Klinger’s Isabel places the classic midlife-crisis story in São Paolo, Brazil, where its eponymous character—a sommelière (co-writer Marina Person) working the city’s fine-dining scene—seeks to replace grinding employment with opening her own bar. Shot on 16mm à la Klinger’s Porto, it suggests an alternately leisurely and rigorous experience: in an interview with producer Rodrigo Teixeira, our own Nick Newman called it “a movie cinephiles could show to their parents.” The first audience, however, will be those at Berlinale, where Isabel makes its world premiere on Monday, February 16, ahead of which comes a trailer and our exclusive debut of the film’s poster, designed by Filipe Lampejo.
Here’s the synopsis: “Isabel, a sommelière in São Paulo’s fine-dining scene, dreams of escaping her controlling boss and opening her own wine bar, where she decides what goes in the glass. When her plans fail to ferment as expected, Isabel must decide between playing it safe and taking her one bold chance to uncork her destiny on her own terms.”
Find the preview and exclusive poster debut below:
