A vida do lado de fora

Abstract

What happens to young people who are not adopted and come of age in the foster care system? This question is the starting point of the documentary “A Vida do Lado de Fora”, which talks about the experiences of five young people from foster care houses. In 55 minutes, the film also reflects on the construction of autonomy within foster care and discusses the relationship between racism and non-adoption. The script opts for a humanized narrative, giving prominence to the characters' experiences, but without leaving aside the most objective part - statistics and expert analysis. We chose to make a documentary without voice-over, which flirts with elements of cinema, such as the original soundtrack, color correction and composition of scenes, and television journalism, such as the use of graphics and stripes. The documentary reveals that the reasons that lead young people to remain in the foster care system until 18 years old and the difficulties faced by them after leaving come up against the intersection of social problems typical of the brazilian reality, such as wealth inequality and racism. We also observed that the preparation for leaving the foster care houses lacks in the development of the autonomy of that young people, which requires an extra effort from them to survive and carry out daily activities.