Filho’s feature debut intertwines the lives of various residents of an upscale neighbourhood in Recife, Brazil: a housewife obsessed with the barking dog next door; the irritable chief of the private security guards who patrol the streets; a cleaning lady who jumps the fence to visit her lover. Into this ultra-secure setting steps Claudio, who’s just met Sofia. The fragility and beauty of their budding romance contrasts sharply with the near-surreal banality of the neighbours. Group vs. individual: scratching the glossy surface of modern-day Brazil, Neighbouring Sounds offers an incisive look at the nouveau riche, leveraging absurdity to muse on how protectionism and isolation affect private life. Brilliantly weaving plotlines and characters and marked by superb camerawork (notably an inventive use of space and unmatched skill with the zoom), Filho concocts his own unique take, serving up a bittersweet fantasy tinged with anguish. Nostalgia is never far as our postmodern Adam and Eve take an extraordinary stroll from the hulking modern towers of the downtown core to the backcountry with its fast-disappearing traces of a poorer, more rural Brazil.