Description

Leonardo and Giovana are best friends. Like all teenagers they yearn for more independence and, being blind, Leonardo even more so.  They dream of going abroad and of experiencing love’s first kiss. Gabriel, the new boy at school, becomes fast friends with them both, but ultimately three becomes a crowd.

If love happens at first sight, who will Leonardo give his first kiss to?

Told from a unique perspective, The Way He Looks is a universal story of first love that redefined the genre and captured the adoration of cinema audiences the world over.

Directors Statement

THE WAY HE LOOKS is a film focusing on the awakening of the sexuality of a blind teenager. Adolescence is a period in one’s life filled with so many discoveries and sexuality is usually associated with the sense of sight. So how does someone who doesn’t see, finds him or herself attracted to another person? More than that, how does a person that has never seen a man or woman defines their sexual orientation? That’s what we find out when we’re introduced to Leonardo’s life. Besides being blind, there’s one other peculiarity about our main character: he’s gay. Both blindness and homosexuality are still taboos and objects of prejudice in society.

In films, when homosexuality is not a problem in terms of stereotypical character building, many times it is put as an obstacle in the plot, which means that it is necessary to overcome prejudice or prove to society, friends and family that being gay is “normal”. THE WAY HE LOOKS portrays homosexuality, but not as a central theme. The movie is about a teenager boy discovering his sexuality but it does not focus on his sexual orientation. No doubt Leonardo being gay is a major aspect, but less important than experiencing his first love, his first desires and all new experiences brought by adolescence. I wanted to create a universal story that, gay or straight, blind or not, everyone would be able to relate to what Leonardo goes through.



  • -The Sunday Times

  • "A sweet and tender coming of age story"
    -Gay Times
  • "Impossibly charming. Moving, joyous and enchanting in equal measure, you won't take your eyes off it"
    -Dazed & Confused

  • "Daniel Ribeiro's debut feature is a lovely little gem that warrants comparison with Richard Linklater"
    -Total Film

  • "Utterly charming... sexy, sweet and strikingly realistic"
    -QX
Cast: Ghilherme Lobo, Fabio Audi, Tess Amorim, Lúcia Romano, Eucir de Souza
Director: Daniel Ribeiro
Writer: Daniel Ribeiro
Country: Brazil
Language: Portuguese
Subtitles: English
Aspect Ratio: 16:9
Certificate: TBC
Running Time: 95 mins
Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1
DVD Release Date: 09-02-2015
VoD Release Date: 09-02-2015
Cinema Release Date: 24-10-2014
Dvd Catalogue Number: 5060018653204 - DVD
Year: 2014
Producer: Diana Almeida
Editor: Cristian Chinen
Cinematography: Pierre de Kerchove

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