Air Date
March 20, 2025
Episodes
5 episodes
I Don't Give Up on You
Season 1
Overview
The biographical series “Eu não desisto de você” (I don't give up on you) follows the trajectory of lawyer Ana Vasconcelos (1944-2009) through the testimonies of former street girls from Recife, who attended the non-governmental organization Casa de Passagem in the 1990s, created by the lawyer to combat violence and sexual exploitation of street girls. The protagonist Betânia, now a psychopedagogue, sets out to find the other women whose lives were transformed by Ana Vasconcelos. Past and present intertwine with a feminine view of the process of social transformation.
Episodes
1. CORAGEM
As we accompany the life of Ana Vasconcelos and the history of the Casa de Passagem, intertwined with her own life, Betânia, 48, a graduate in pedagogy, mother of four children and three grandchildren, traces the affective geography of the places she lived when she was a homeless girl in Recife.
2. LIBERDADE
Betânia visits the homes of Janaína, who also lived on the streets of Recife and was rescued by Ana Vasconcelos, and Miranir, a fashion designer, who as a girl lived in the favela and played the triangle on the buses to make ends meet. Both talk about their pasts on the streets, their relationship with Ana Vasconcelos and their daily lives in the Casa de Passagem. Betânia tells the story of Ana Vasconcelos' family, her free childhood in the engenho, her adolescence and her formative years.
3. FORÇA
Betânia talks about the moment when Ana Vasconcelos decided to set up Casa de Passagem. At Raquel's house, we hear the testimony of the “former street girl” who became an actress and starred in the play “Bolero de Raquel”, the result of one of Casa de Passagem's pioneering projects, which toured several Brazilian cities. Dora, Roberta and Alexandra, who were also part of Raquel's Bolero, also take part in this episode and tell us about their experiences at Casa de Passagem, about the cultural and artistic activities and about Casa de Passagem's work on the streets and in the communities.
4. CRIATIVIDADE
In this episode we meet Paulinha, Ana Vasconcelos' adopted daughter, and Ana Vasconcelos' life at the head of Casa de Passagem, as a public personality, facing immense challenges and difficulties in the last years of her life. This time, Betânia visits the homes of Virlane and Adilza and talks to Roseane about Casa de Passagem's preventive work in the communities.
5. ATIVISMO
On her last visit to her former companions, Betânia accompanies Angela Brodbeck's arrival in Recife and the launch of her autobiographical book. The writer, who lives in Switzerland, tells her story, how she arrived at the Casa de Passagem and the importance of Ana Vasconcelos in her life. In this episode, we see the media and activist side of Ana Vasconcelos and follow the reunion of the girls from the Casa de Passagem.