O JACARÉ

Fiction ∙ 2026
92 min ∙
Cape Verdean Creole & Portuguese

INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION LOCARNO 2026

A film by Basil Da Cunha



Reboleira, a suburb of Lisbon. After a robbery gone wrong, a car ends up crashed right in the middle of the neighborhood. The driver is arrested, but the €180,000 that were stolen have vanished. Within the area sealed off by the police, rumors spread and speculations run wild. Among the residents, a whole cast of colorful characters dream of getting their hands on the loot. Who will the first to get their hands on it?


Basil Da Cunha was born in Morges, Switzerland, in 1985. He finishes the HEAD in Geneva with his first feature length film "ATÉ VER A LUZ" in 2013. His body of work, rooted in reality and shaped by genre cinema, from magical realism to film noir and musicals, has established a lasting presence in major international festivals.

After completing O JACARÉ , an ensemble film, Basil is developing the series PUBLIC ENEMY, and is preparing FURIA, a superhero film emerging from working-class neighborhoods.

O Jacaré · fiction · 92' · 2026
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2720 · fiction · 24' · 2023
O Fim Do Mundo · fiction · 107' · 2019
Nuvem Negra · documentaire · 19' · 2014
Até ver a luz · fiction · 95' · 2013
Os vivos tambem choram · fiction · 31' · 2012
Nuvem · fiction · 30' · 2011
Next Door · fiction · 25' · 2009
Lex Talionis · fiction · 26' · 2008

« For more than fifteen years, I have been filming the neighborhood of Reboleira, a place built by Cape Verdean immigrants in the outskirts of Lisbon and now slated for demolition. The neighborhood has never been a backdrop: it is the heart of the films, and the films have become its memory.
Before it disappears, everyone had to be brought together for one final dance. »
Basil Da Cunha, director

« O JACARÉ openly embraces the nostalgia of my cinematic childhood, shaped by the films of the 1990s. Bright, sun-drenched films filled with memorable supporting characters, unforgettable faces, and sharp dialogue. That is the feeling I wanted to recapture. A pop, luminous energy. A summer film, carried by comedy and a sense of freedom.»
Basil Da Cunha, director

With

Alexandra Sena (aka Xana)
Alexandre Da Costa Fonseca (aka Chandi)
Paulo César Lima Fonseca (aka PC)
Nelson Carvalho (aka KP)
Pedro Diniz (aka Machine)
Heidir Correia (aka D-Tchaps)
Carlos Fonseca (aka Kikas)
Pedro Ferreira (aka Mafia)
Frederico Lopes (aka Toru Oro Na Denti)
Verónica Lii
Maria Santos (aka Txynilee)
Susana Costa
Ivo Bernardo

With the special apearence of

Carloto Cotta
Filipe Vargas

Director

Basil Da Cunha

Script and dialogues

Basil Da Cunha

Assistant director

Fulvio Balmer Rebullida

Casting Coach

Eliana Rosa
Pedro Diniz

Director of Photography

Patrick Tresch (scs)

Sound

Igor Marlot
David Badalo

Costume Design

Patricia Dória

Set Design

Artur Pinheiro

Location Manager

Joao Lobão

Production coordination

Joana Schouten

Project coordination

Rita Santos Silva

Editing

Basil Da Cunha
Kostas Makrinos
Noa Roquet
João Nunes

Sound Editing

Adrien Kessler

Original Music

Henrique Silva

Sound Mixing

Adrien Kessler

Color Grading

Michele Ricossa

Production

Thera Production, Julien Rouyet

Co-production

Continue Walking, João Nunes et Rui Xavier

Co-production

RTS Radio Télévision Suisse, Françoise Mayor et Celya Larré

Associated Production

Akka Films, Palmyre Badinier, Philippe Coeytaux, Nadia Turincev, Omar El Kadi et Nicolas Wadimoff

With the support of

L'Office fédéral de la culture (OFC)
Cinéforom
Loterie Romande
ICA
Fundo de apoio ao turismo e ao cinema
RTP
Suissimage
Succès passage antenne SRG SSR
Câmara municipal de Lisboa


Festivals

Festival del Film Locarno - International Competition

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