Cláudia Varejão’s debut fiction film is a luminous ode to queer communities on the Azores island of Sao Miguel. Culturally specific and delicately nuanced, Wolf and Dog follows protagonist, Ana, as she navigates the stifling forces of religion and tradition in pursuit of the passions and butterflies of new desire. Mirroring Ana’s journey of self-discovery, Varejão’s initially observational style slowly gives way to something more lush and experimental, capturing the gentle unfolding of young love finding its first voice.

A dive, the midday sunlight filtering down through the water. The air in
her lungs has to last until she can dislodge the abalone. Dives like
these have been carried out in Japan for over 2000 years by the Ama-San, that literally translates “women of the sea”.