‘Xica da Silva’ (1976)
One of two true stories among this list, the film “Xica da Silva” dramatically retells the life of the title character, a Black and Portuguese woman, who was born in to slavery and later used her feminine charms to gain her liberty and amass a fortune from her rich and powerful Portuguese lover.
The film stars one of the great — and rare — Black actresses in Brazilian cinema Zezé Motta as “Xica.” In later years, the movie inspired a telenovela series by the same name.
