Queer Cinema x ESSM: The Way He Looks ²⁰¹⁴

Queer Cinema in collaboration with ESSM. Before the film Jade Hu, a Surinamese trans woman, medical student, community educator, will give a short introduction will reflect on mental well-being, staying true to yourself in a world that pulls you in many directions, and honoring the voice within you that deserves to be heard.

The Way He Looks (2014) is a tender coming-of-age story set in São Paulo, and the winner of the TEDDY Award for Best Feature Film at the Berlin International Film Festival.

Fifteen-year-old Leo is blind and eager to carve out a life of his own. At home, his overprotective mother won’t let him do anything alone, while at school his best friend Giovana leaves him little room to find his own voice. He has never kissed anyone and is convinced that no one could ever fall for a blind boy. Dreaming of a fresh start, Leo hopes to spend a year abroad as an exchange student.

Everything changes when Gabriel joins his class. Leo is drawn to Gabriel’s easygoing nature and the fact that he treats him no differently from anyone else. As their friendship deepens, Giovana struggles to share her best friend while quietly harbouring feelings of her own for Gabriel. Amid shifting friendships and first love, Leo begins to see himself, and his future, in a new light.

With understated performances and remarkable emotional honesty, Daniel Ribeiro’s celebrated debut feature captures the uncertainty, excitement and vulnerability of adolescence with warmth and grace. Refusing to define its characters by disability or sexuality, The Way He Looks embraces both as natural parts of everyday life, resulting in an intimate, deeply humane portrait of first love, self-discovery and the quiet courage to chart your own path.