Brazilian author Jorge Amado’s classic novel “Tieta of Agreste” will get a new movie adaptation written by and starring Brazilian actress Suzana Pires (Elite Squad, Casa Grande), with Joana Mariani (Todas as Canções de Amor) on board as the director.
Set in the 1970s, the novel tells the story of the return of Tieta to the remote village of Santana do Agreste 26 years after being banished for promiscuity, beaten and expelled by her father in front of all the town’s people.
The novel got the TV treatment in 1989, starring Betty Faria, while a 1996 film version starred Sônia Braga. Pires will take on the lead role of Tieta in the new movie.
Produced by Eliane Ferreira’s Muiraquitã Filmes, known for such movies as Portrait of a Certain Orient (2024) and Querencia (2019), the film will have the title Tieta, with the company promising a look at the protagonist “through a new and feminine lens.”
Pires, who has more than 20 years of experience as a screenwriter and 30 as an actress, said that the “goal is to reimagine Tieta through a feminine lens,” bringing a new perspective compared to previous adaptations. The idea is to emphasize how the character is a “symbol of resilience and freedom,” she added.
The movie will focus on the relationship between Tieta and Perpetua, “characters that represent freedom and castration, respectively,” according to the production firm. It hopes that the film will allow “another great, complex and profound character from Brazilian literature” to “conquer the global market.”
Amado, who died in 2001, is known for his works exploring such themes as love, social inequality, and cultural identity. Among his other famous novels are the likes of Gabriela, Clove and Cinnamon, Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands, which was made into a movie starring Braga, and Captains of the Sands, which has also been adapted for the big screen.