In Luz nos trópicos, Paula Gaitán weaves together a dense fabric of storylines, timelines and settings, intermingled with indigenous cosmologies, travelogues and anthropological literature. Initially, the director follows a young man of indigenous origin. At the beginning, he is standing on the banks of the East River in winter. Soon he is travelling upriver through the Brazilian jungle to a village, where he is greeted like an old friend. In a second storyline, the director accompanies a group of European settlers. They are also travelling upriver, collecting, possessing and searching for a position from which they can survey the forest and the river. Some 150 years separate the two layers; sometimes, a dive into the water dissolves this separation in the space of a second. Later on, the film wanders northwards again and the layers collapse into one another. Between Walden Pond and the Amazon lies just a cut.
Luz nos trópicos is an homage to the abundant greenery of the Amazon region, the woods of New England in winter and the indigenous populations of both Americas. A film that is as free-flowing as a winding river.

Madalena hasn’t come home from work. Worried about his wife, Elon delves into a restless journey in search of her whereabouts. His quest began following her daily routines, work, family and her friends. In desperation, Elon reports to the police station. Fearing the worst he trudges to one hospital after another, even morgues. No one has a clue about the sudden and baffling disappearance of his wife. Insomnia sets in. Loneliness takes hold of Elon’s life. Driven to the edge of desperation, life becomes a maze of misunderstandings, strange encounters and journeys through endless corridors in the darkest parts of town. The watchful eye of Elon seems void as he gazes at obscure figures, at shadows, at faces in the crowd hoping for the comeback of his beloved wife. Elon is losing his mind. His life is falling apart, with his job lost, he vents out his pain and desperation in a violent manner. Reality deceives Elon and he decides to deny it.

But can he deceive reality, too?