Magdalena: »I’m afraid of dying.«
Antonio: »Then just don’t die.«

Madalena lives in Jotoumba, a run-down and over-aged village in the Paraíbo valley in Brazil. She and residents live in momeory of the deceased and remembering the times when all around coffee was still grown. Now times seem to stand still in Jotoumba, even the cemetry has closed down. The residents confront their dreary situation with daily personal routines: Madalena bakes bread rolls every morning for Antonio, owner of the village café, goes to church and then eats lunch with the others. She walks to the village along the railway line, on which no train has run for many years. One day on this path she meets Rita, a young photographer, whom she takes into her home and who unsettles her with her perspecitve on life and on dying in Jotuomba.
The feature film début of documentary filmmaker Julia Murat is a modern parable about life and passing away, and an homage to the times when the vale do Paraíbo was still the prosperous source of pride for Brazilian coffee producers. The festival has screened Histórias que só existem quando lembradas as the German première.

Awards for ›Histórias que só existem quando lembradas‹
Bester Film, Abu Dhabi Film Festival 2011