A woman is taken along with her mother in 1910 to a far-away desert by her husband, and after his passing, is forced to spend the next 59 years of her life hopelessly trying to escape it.

A film by Andrucha WADDINGTON

starring Fernanda Montenegro, Fernanda Torres, Ruy Guerra, Seu Jorge

Brazil, 2005, fiction, 1h55min

Original title: Casa de Areia
French title: La maison de sable
English: The House of Sand

Language: Portuguese
Filming locations: Lençóis Maranhenses, Maranhão, Brazil
Runtime: 1h 55min
Color: Color
Sound mix: Dolby Digital
Aspect ratio: 2.35 : 1

TAGS:
1910s
dunes
goat
slave
desert
brazil
real life mother and daughter playing mother and daughter
same actor playing three roles
mother and daughter played by same actress
maranhao brazil
man on moon
solar eclipse
male rear nudity
lusophone
brazilian army
female nudity
female full frontal nudity
widow
landscape
escape attempt
casual sex
theory of relativity
stranded
sea
scientist
salt
pregnancy
mother daughter relationship
spanning generations
sand
loneliness
isolation
interracial sex
freed slave
eclipse

Director: Andrucha Waddington
Writers: Elena Soarez (screenplay), Luiz Carlos Barreto (story), Andrucha Waddington (story)

Cast (in credits order)
Fernanda Montenegro Fernanda Montenegro... Dona Maria / Áurea / Maria
Fernanda Torres Fernanda Torres... Áurea / Maria
Ruy Guerra Ruy Guerra... Vasco de Sá
Seu Jorge Seu Jorge... Massu - 1910-1919
Stênio Garcia Stênio Garcia... Luiz - 1942
Luiz Melodia Luiz Melodia... Massu - 1942
Enrique Diaz Enrique Diaz... Luiz - 1919 (as Enrique Díaz)
Emiliano Queiroz Emiliano Queiroz... Chico do Sal
João Acaiabe João Acaiabe... Pai de Massu
Camilla Facundes Camilla Facundes... Maria - 1919
Haroldo Costa Haroldo Costa... Capataz
Jorge Mautner Jorge Mautner... Cientista
Nelson Jacobina Nelson Jacobina... Cientista
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Zumbi Bahia Zumbi Bahia... Carregador Vasco #1
Jefferson de Almeida Barbosa Jefferson de Almeida Barbosa... Mirinho (1919)
Wadson Martins Costa Wadson Martins Costa... Mirinho - 1942
Urias de Oliveira Filho Urias de Oliveira Filho... Carregador Vasco 2
Guilherme Júnior Guilherme Júnior... Pescador Fogueira
Carlos Henrique Nascimento Carlos Henrique Nascimento... Pescador do Entreposto
Fernando Torres Fernando Torres... (archive footage)
Produced by
Claudia Braga... delegate producer
Pedro Buarque de Hollanda... producer
Daniel Filho... associate producer
Marcos França... executive producer
Pedro Guimarães... producer
Luciano Huck... associate producer
Katiuscha Mello... series producer
Leonardo Monteiro de Barros... producer
Simone Oliveira... marketing producer
Carolina Pernisa... assistant producer
Carlos Eduardo Rodrigues... associate producer
Patrick Siaretta... co-producer
Andrucha Waddington... producer
Music by
João Barone
Carlo Bartolini
Cinematography by
Ricardo Della Rosa
Film Editing by
Sérgio Mekler
Art Direction by
Tulé Peak
Costume Design by
Cláudia Kopke
Makeup Department
Martín Macías Trujillo... makeup department head
Production Management
Veruschka Bauerle... post-production supervisor
Katiuscha Mello... production manager
Fernando Zagallo... production manager
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
César Rodrigues... first assistant director
Art Department
Ana Paula Guimarães... arts coordinator
Clara Rocha... assistant art director
Sound Department
Mark Berger... supervising re-recording mixer
Miriam Biderman... supervising sound editor
Bito Cavalcante... cable person
Ana Chiarini... dialogue editor
Rodrigo de Noronha... re-recording mixer
Rômulo Drummond... second boom operator
Helena Duarte... foley editor
Fernando Henna... sound editor
Jesse Marmo... sound re-recording mixer assistant
Bernardo Pacheco... sound editor
Mauricio Pascuet Pregnolatto... foley artist (as Maurício Pascuet)
Jorge Saldanha... sound mixer
Yan Saldanha... boom operator
Daniel Turini... sound effects editor
Special Effects by
Sergio Farjalla Jr.... special effects
Visual Effects by
Roberta Lewis... digital effects artist
Rogério Marinho... visual effects
Renato Merlino... visual effects artist
Claudio Peralta... compositor
Ailton Piuí... digital compositor
Marco Prado... visual effects artist
Diogo Russo... data manager: Colorist Jr
Eduardo Sallas... lead digital compositor
Robson Sartori... visual effects artist
Thiago Sassioto... digital intermediate conform editor: film recording
Marcelo Siqueira... post production supervisor / visual effects supervisor
Fábio Soares... visual effects supervisor
Lilian Stock Bonzi... digital effects artist
Karina Vanes... post production coordinator
Ariel Wollinger... digital intermediate conform editor / film recording supervisor
Stefan Wähner... digital compositor: flame artist
Sergio Yamasaki... 3d artist
Camera and Electrical Department
Lisandro Almeida... still photographer
Flavio Borges... video assist
Cristiano Conceição... assistant camera
Luiz Gonzaga de Almeida... key grip
Carlos Dessbesell-Schüler... camera copter pilot
Pablo Hoffmann... second assistant camera
Sérgio Isidoro... gaffer
Renato Mineirinho... grip
Felipe Reinheimer... assistant camera
Costume and Wardrobe Department
Ana Avelar... costume assistant
Ro Nascimento... assistant costumer
Editorial Department
Alex Ferreira Barreiro... assistant editor
Fábio Fatorelli... assistant editor
Nina Galanternick... assistant editor
Rodrigo Oliveira... post-production coordinator
Gigio Pelosi... colorist
Ariel Wollinger... digital intermediate editor / digital intermediate supervisor
Rafael Yamin... assistant colorist
Transportation Department
Kleber Souza... transportation captain
Additional Crew
Sergio Farjalla Jr.... weapon specialist
Cecília Grosso... production coordinator
David Magdael... publicist
Ariadne Mazzetti... commercial attendant
Katiuscha Mello... production coordinator
David Ventura... post production assistant
Anne Stulz... publicist (uncredited)
Thanks
Alesia Weston... special thanks


Box office
Budget (estimated): R$8,000,000
Gross US & Canada: $539,285
Opening weekend US & Canada (Aug 13, 2006): $31,405
Gross worldwide: $1,178,175

Production companies
Columbia TriStar Filmes do Brasil
Conspiração Filmes

Co-production: Globo Filmes
Associate production: Lereby Productions

in association with
Quanta Centro de Produções Cinematográficas

in association with
Teleimage

Distributors
Columbia TriStar (2005) (Brazil) (theatrical)
Sony Pictures Classics (2006) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) (2006) (USA) (theatrical)
ARP Sélection (2006) (France) (theatrical)
trigon-film (2006) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
Audio Visual Enterprises (2006) (Greece) (DVD)
Cinemax (2008) (Hungary) (TV)
trigon-film (2007) (Switzerland) (DVD)