FANTASMA NEON

In Rio de Janeiro, João, a bicycle delivery worker, dreams of purchasing a motorbike to improve his life and support his family. Since his mother died, he has become the sole provider of the family, taking care of his brother Luiz, who harbours a secret as well. When an accident at work triggers protests among the delivery staff, his belief about merit and solidarity wavers. Caught between ambition and loyalty, João discovers the cost of his dreams in a city where singing is also an act of resistance. 

Taking both the title and the premise of his first award-winning short film, Fantasma Neon, Leonardo Martinelli deepens his exploration of the gig economy through a musical drama rooted in the streets of Rio de Janeiro, where songs and social struggles set the pace of a young man’s journey, torn between his dreams and his responsibilities. Renowned for his ability to blend genres brilliantly, Leonardo Martinelli explores postcolonial  iconography and structures, observing how they manifest everyday, at work and in individuals’ relationships to the city – a space he believes belongs to the people. Constantly experimenting with his remarkable command of cinematic forms, he infuses his films with elements of choreography and musical cinema, drawing inspiration from masters of the genre – Vincente Minnelli and Stanley Donen – as well as filmmakers who reinvented it.