70 years ago, a visionary management in education and culture as a political strategy for the dissemination and development of Bahia gave rise to an artistic vanguard that still impacts Brazilian culture today.

In 1996, filmmaker André Luiz Oliveira started preproduction of Viva o Povo Brasileiro, a film adaptation of the novel by João Ubaldo Ribeiro. Principal photography went on for nine years, but the production was shut down after a series of unfortunate events. This documentary retells that story, repurposing the fictional footage and chronicling the work both in front and behind the scenes.