Anjo

A man haunted by violence seeks redemption through the Capoeira communities of Los Angeles and Rio de Janeiro. Adapted from Leo Tolstoy.

About the Film

Marcus carries the weight of something he cannot undo. Drawn to a Capoeira community in Los Angeles, he begins to find structure in the practice – its discipline, its martial philosophy, its insistence on transformation.

When his mestre sends him to Rio de Janeiro to study at the art form's historical source, Marcus must confront both the depth of the tradition and the depth of his own guilt. What he finds in Brazil is not absolution – it is the harder, more durable thing: the possibility of continuing.

Adapted from a short story by Leo Tolstoy, Anjo transposes the Russian master's meditation on guilt and redemption into a contemporary, physically dynamic world – one in which the body itself becomes the instrument of reckoning.

Creative Team

Anjo adapts one of Tolstoy's lesser-known short stories – a moral fable about guilt, redemption, and the slow work of becoming someone else – into a contemporary setting inflected by Afro-Brazilian culture and martial tradition.

Jonathan Dorfman has championed bold literary adaptations throughout his career. Dave Matthews brings a long personal engagement with Brazilian music and culture to the project.