September Mornings (Manhãs de Setembro) is the story of a Brazilian trans woman at a crucial turning point in her life. It’s available on Prime Video.
In September Mornings (Manhãs de Setembro), Cassandra (Liniker) has her life in a good place after years of struggle. A friendly club owner allows her to sing songs made famous by Vanusa, a romantic singer who was a hit during the 70s in Brazil. Cassandra idolizes Vanusa. She talks to her photograph on the wall whenever she’s troubled.
Cassandra has a job as a motorbike courier in downtown São Paulo, which pays enough that she can finally get her own studio apartment. Her handsome (but married) boyfriend Ivaldo (Thomas Aquino) is perfect for her.
She’s free, she’s accepted as trans and has a big support network of other LGBTQ friends. Life is just about to be what she’s always wanted.
Then Cassandra’s old friend Leide (Karine Teles) shows up at her door. They grew up in the same town. Now Leide is living out of her car under a bridge with her 10 year old son Gersinho (Gustavo Coelho). Guess who else has a 10 year old son named Gersinho? Cassandra, that’s who.
Cassandra regards this development as unacceptable. She tries to throw them out – several times. She gives them a bed (just one night!) several times. She lets them use her shower several times. No matter what she does to avoid it, the problem of parenthood and a son who wants to call her Dad just doesn’t go away. (Eventually, she does convince Gersinho to call her Cassandra. This feels respectful to her.)
The series is a well-written and well-directed dive into Cassandra’s life in the time span of just a few days. Where she is at the end of those few dramatic days is very different from where she was when the series began.
The people around Cassandra are interesting and kind. They help out Gersinho and Leide when Cassandra won’t. The acting was very good from the entire cast.
The first season of September Mornings only has 5 episodes. It’s a quick watch. I found the series very well done. Liniker, known in Brazil as a singer, was excellent in her part.
Take a look at the trailer.
If you give this series a try, I’d love to know what you thought about it.