In a place where conventional structures of authority fall away, a tomboy, a sea captain, a fiercely independent pregnant mother, and two wayward fishermen must find their place in the space between the urban and a traditional life threatened by impending forces. An ode to nature and human relations, No Kings explores the freedom of one of the last Caiçara communities. What begins as a simple ethnography becomes a deeply personal journey, contemplating the current direction of modern Brazil.
Emilia Mello is a Brazilian-American filmmaker and photographer who lives in São Paulo, Brazil. Her first feature documentary, NO KINGS (Sem Deus Sem Demônio), received support from the Tribeca Film Institute, dok.incubator, and Court 13 Arts. It premiered at CPH:Dox 2020 and was part of the official selection of the Museum of Modern Art’s Doc Fortnight, True False, and the Camden International Film Festival. She graduated magna cum laude from Columbia University with a degree in Evolution, Ecology, and Environmental Biology. She is currently pursuing an MFA at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She is a recipient of a 2021 Logan Nonfiction Program Fellowship, a part of the Carey Institute for Global Good.