The Early Work of Paulo Freire - Maestra Productions

In 1963, Paulo Freire led a small group of educators across Northeastern Brazil in experimental “Culture Circles,” teaching 300 rural people to read and write in forty hours. Their innovative method used critical and creative thinking instead of memorization and repetition. By contextualizing and personalizing the lessons, educators used their surroundings to teach vocabulary and construct meaning – and to vote. Freire’s project opened the door for them to get ID cards for the first time and participate in the fervor of the blossoming democracy taking place in Brazil at that time. A coup d’etat in 1964 overthrew the president, shut down the program and set fire to the farmers’ notebooks. Freire was forced into exile for 16 years, spreading this pedagogy around the globe and impacting education until today.

Reading the World Premiered at the Gramado Film Festival in August 2025, winning the Best Feature Documentary Award!

We will continue on the film festival circuit with an expected release in September 2026.

Paulo Freire – creative graphics by Tagles Heredia

Directed by Catherine Murphy & Iris de Oliveira

Produced by Micaela Ovelar, Carina Aparecida and Rachel Dickson

Co-producer Paulo Freire Institute

Executive producers Petra Costa, Kit Miller, T.M. Scruggs

Written by Iris de Oliveira, Renato Maia, Mara Wollong & Luis Dechtiar

Edited by Iris de Oliveira, Renato Maia, Mara Wollong & Luis Dechtiar

Associate producers Passos Jr, Talaya Grimes, Miranda Montenegro

Field producers Silvana Pacheco, Gustavo Correia

Consulting producers Maria Luisa Mendonça, Catherine Gund, Gary Wright Jr.

Creative consultant Denise Zmekhol

Cinematography Carina Aparecida, Ulisses Brandão, Cristiano Burlan, Oto Cartaxo, Caio Castor, Renato Maia, Passos Jr. Direct sound Felipe Mago Andrade, Valney Damacena, Albán Henriquez

Consulting editors Lucy Phenix, Tracey Quezada, Corey Ohama

Archival producers Stephanie Temoteo & Micaela Ovelar

Impact producer Erika Hoffgen – Vivá Projetos

Communications team Lucia Amieva-Wang, Nathan Ary, Lauren Pardo, Gabriela Luz Sierra, and Stephanie Temoteo

Music by Bia Ferreira, Chico Cesar, Claudio Rabeca and the Quinteto de Paraiba

Produced by Maestra Productions and the Paulo Freire Institute in association with SESC, Bela Films, and the Swiss Consulate in São Paulo.

Made possible by The Quitiplás Foundation, Orchard House Foundation, Buenas Obras Fund, the Alternative Schools Network – and many generous individuals. Impact campaign funded in part by the Puffin Foundation.