REZBOTANIK

Portugal, Brazil, Spain | 2025 | 18 min | col.| Portuguese

Rez, a trans performer hailing from Brazil, visits the Botanical Garden in Lisbon whenever they need to sober up after a night of heavy partying. But it’s not just about getting sober – immersing oneself in this vegetative environment also means regaining a comfort zone in an experiential and political process. Rez feels like the part of a whole where bodies and plants coexist and exchange information, achieving a deeper knowledge of themselves. This said, the botanical garden is not only a natural setting, but also a place of cataloguing and control – a control that prevents plants and bodies from being free, from finding their own nature and developing their full potential. At the intersection of experience, nature, and power, Rezbotanik invites us to gain a better understanding of ourselves by crossing the boundaries between cinema, nature, and the body. (C.C.)