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The juvenile scarlet ibis is black, we are told. Actually it’s a sort of muddy grey colour with white bits, but let’s not quibble. The point is that this is its natural colour. It takes on its stunning red plumage as it enters into adulthood, as a result of its diet of red crabs. In other words, it deviates from its natural status as a result of its behaviour. With that in mind, the pastor (Isac Graça ) suggests, any person, no matter how difficult it may seem, can simply change their behaviour and revert to their natural state.

The difficulty with this, of course, is that it’s natural for the ibis to eat crabs – and that the world is more wonderful with a dash of scarlet.

“It’s tough for people like you, out there,” Suellen (Maeve Jinkings) declares during one of several heated exchanges with her...

Carolina Markowicz returns to the circuit to release her second feature “Toll” (“Pedágio”), cementing another world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival, this time in its Centrepiece strand, billed as championing “compelling stories, global perspectives,” before heading to San Sebastian for closing night honors in its Horizontes Latinos competition later this month.

Paris-based Luxbox handles international sales and has provided Variety with an exclusive first look at the riveting trailer.

After high praise for her feature-film debut “Charcoal,” Markowicz, among Brazil’s top-tier cineastes, returns with another compelling societal study, this time with an eye on a complicated mother-son relationship that leads to a keen understanding of just what people are capable of under the influence of their fragile, yet righteous, morality.

Produced by Karen Castanho, Bianca Villar and Fernando Fraiha, founding partners at Brazil’s Bionica Filmes (“Welcome Violeta”), Luís Urbano and Sandro Aguilar from O Som e a Fúria,...