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Logline

A modern-day story of resilience, perseverance, and determination, King Djeferson follows the story of Djeferson Mendes, who grew up in extreme poverty in Praça Onze, the beating heart of the city of Samba, and 35 years later was crowned King Momo of Rio’s famously spectacular Carnival of 2023.

Synopsis

Most people know that the celebration of Carnival in Rio de Janeiro is vibrant, week-long party, known as the biggest party on earth. What people often do not know is the cultural and historic importance of Carnival to the people of Rio, or its Afro-Brazilian roots. Every year, a King– King Momo– and queen and two princesses are chosen in a highly competitive process to reign over Carnival and symbolically run the city during the week of festivities. In 2023, Djeferson was chosen by the people of Rio and the 12 judges to represent Rio as their beloved King Momo.

Djeferson embraces and represents his community in Rio de Janeiro, and it is inspiring and touching to watch him walk down the street with everyone greeting him “Hi, my King!” with children running to him and jumping on his back. He cannot pass a baby without lifting her/him into the air. Djeferson represents the people of Rio as well, and the diversity of stories coming out of the marvelous city. His story, as revealed in the film, is highly personal, but also universal in the sense of perseverance and overcoming challenges for an ultimate reward and success.

In the competition to be King Momo in 2024, Djeferson is the incumbent, and he was a very good and successful king in 2023. One challenge for him in the 2024 race is that the king, historically a fat, jolly, samba-dancing, hedonist, is no longer required to be fat– the former minimum weight requirement has been removed and the judges emphasize that being fat is no longer important. Djeferson, however, is the classic, traditional Momo look– fat and comfortable as he is, and he wants very much to hold the crown to once again represent his community as their samba-dancing celebrity King.
 

Meet the Filmmakers

Kelly Richardson – Director/Producer
Kelly Richardson directed and produced Without a Net, a feature-length documentary film shot in Rio de Janeiro, in Portuguese. The film’s production and post-production was supported by Fulbright, SFFilm FilmHouse Residency, Berkeley Film Fund, Fleischhacker Foundation, Pacific Pioneer Fund, and others, and it screened in the Mill Valley Film Festival, San Francisco DocFest, Raindance, Atlanta, Portland, Big Sky, Cine Las Americas, Red Rock, Buenos Aires Human Rights, Cirque de Demain in Paris, and others, and won awards including Best Documentary in Santa Monica Film Festival, and Audience Awards in Atlanta and Red Rock.

Subsequently, Kelly spent a decade working as a stunt performer and action actress in major Hollywood films and television, including Guardians of the Galaxy, San Andreas, Westworld, CSI, Amsterdam, Legion, Bones, Mayans, and many others. She performed stunts doubling Taylor Swift, Blake Lively, Karen Gillan, Alexandra Daddario, and many others.

Kelly holds a BA from UCBerkeley, MFA from NYU, is fluent in four languages, including Portuguese, and is the director-producer of King Djeferson a feature-length documentary film, currently being shot in Rio de Janeiro, in Portuguese.

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Contact

For inquiries, please contact fiscalsponsorship@filmindependent.org.