Barbosa’s debut film, the critically acclaimed Casa Grande marked him as an emerging talent and Gabriel and the Mountain premiered in Critics' Week in Cannes, where it won the Visionary Prize.

It tells the true story of Gabriel Buchmann, a schoolmate of Barbosa’s, as he travels through Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia and Malawi, before his death on the slopes of Malawi’s Mount Mulange in 2009.

Gabriel is a young Brazilian from a wealthy family who takes a “gap year” to see the world before he begins his PhD in the US. Though he carries a travel guide, he aggressively resists any suggestion that he's a tourist and tries to immerse himself in the local cultures.

Gabriel’s appetite for the freedom and friendship of the road gives this film irresistible exuberance and heart. By using the same locations that the real-life Gabriel visited in his travels, as well as people who met him playing themselves, Barbosa creates a profoundly moving character study that blurs the line between reality and fiction.

BOFA will screen 30 of the world’s best features and documentaries from May 17 to 20 at Village Cinema in Launceston.

The full BOFA program is online at breath-of-fresh-air.com.au. Bookings are now open at Village Cinema.