This week, Chroma Art Film Festival proudly features Like No One Is Watching, an experimental documentary short by Brazilian filmmaker Gi Ismael. Through pulsating rhythms, vivid urban imagery, and deeply embodied performances, this 13-minute film paints a poetic portrait of joy, liberation, and emotional truth lived publicly and unashamedly. Blurring the line between street life and dance floor, Like No One Is Watching turns the city into a stage, where its characters surrender to rhythm and emotion without restraint. With a journalistic eye and cinematic soul, Gi Ismael offers a raw, immersive journey into the heart of bodily freedom, social expression, and the beauty of the unfiltered moment

Overview

In Like No One Is Watching, the camera captures more than movement—it captures freedom. Following individuals who transform public spaces into intimate stages of expression, this experimental essay film explores how joy, music, and bodily presence serve as tools for both survival and celebration.

In the dance halls and on the sidewalks, these characters offer us a glimpse of a world where emotion is performed with abandon and authenticity, where joy isn’t a luxury, but a necessity. With a documentary approach and lyrical tone, Gi Ismael crafts a cinematic experience that bridges performance and presence, reminding us that sometimes the most honest art comes from those who aren’t trying to perform at all.

Credits

• Director & Writer: Gi Ismael
• Producer: Tuia Filmes
• Key Cast:
  • Bigode Dançarino
  • MC Hirlla
  • Lua Camboatá
  • Lúcia Aires

Specifications

• Project Type: Documentary
• Genres: Dance, Urban, Art-Documentary
• Runtime: 13 minutes 13 seconds
• Completion Date: December 11, 2024
• Production Budget: 50,000 BRL
• Country of Origin: Brazil
• Country of Filming: Brazil
• Language: Portuguese
• Shooting Format: Digital
• Aspect Ratio: 16:9
• Film Color: Color
• First-time Filmmaker: Yes
• Student Project: No

Director Biography: Gi Ismael

Gi Ismael is a journalist and filmmaker based in João Pessoa, Brazil. With a background in television and news media—including work as a reporter, presenter, and columnist for Rede Globo affiliates—Gi transitioned into the audiovisual world through independent music videos and short-form storytelling.

She has directed over 15 music videos and multiple web series. In 2024, she made her original film debut with Like No One Is Watching, following prior creative contributions to Incelenças – Cantos de Caiana, a hybrid docufiction project.

Director Statement

“Occupying urban spaces is like dancing out of the expected rhythm, breaking the rehearsed steps of our obligations and roles, turning the city’s landscape into a stage. Dance is a democratic act of freedom, expression, and release. Inevitably, I find myself admiring those who have no inhibitions about dancing under the spotlight—those who become the standout audience. With this work, I wanted to understand how these people perceive this uninhibited moment and to prove that the urbanity wears us down and exhausts us, but never enough to keep us from making it our stage.”

Follow the filmmaker:@gicomtonica