What if slavery never actually ended? Brazil's dirty secret finally exposed.
Many Brazilians think that slavery ended with the signing of the Lei Áurea. But the relations of slave exploitation of labor persist until today. It is estimated that there are 369,000 Brazilians living and working as slaves. Through the testimony of modern abolitionists and rural workers who were victims of contemporary slavery, Servidão investigates the slave mentality of Brazilian society, which dates back to five centuries.
Writing
Testimonials hit harder than any scripted dialogue could.
Direction
Barbieri lets survivors speak, refuses to look away.
Director
Renato Barbieri
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The 'slave mentality' (mentalidade escravocrata) is a contested academic term in Brazil—Barbieri weaponizes it as accusation, not diagnosis.
The 369,000 figure comes from 2018 Pastoral Land Commission estimates; the film's release coincided with Bolsonaro's campaign to defund labor inspectors.
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