Escrava Mãe (English: The Slave Mother)[1] is a Brazilian telenovela produced by Casablanca for RecordTV. Created by Gustavo Reiz and directed by Ivan Zettel. It premiered on May 31, 2016, and ended on January 9, 2017, replaced by the rerunofA Escrava Isaura.[2][3] It stars Fernando Pavão, Roberta Gualda, Léo Rosa, Milena Toscano, Lidi Lisboa and Thaís Fersoza.[4]
The telenovela tells the story of Juliana, the daughter of a slave brought from Africa and raped by a slave trader, who ends up in the Engenho do Sol after the death of her mother and lives under the love and hatred of the Avelar sisters. Pedro Carvalho plays the Portuguese Miguel, who comes to Brazil to seek answers about the mysterious death of his parents and falls in love with Juliana, having to overcome her fear of white men.
The story begins in 1788 in Congo, Africa. A tribe of Khoisans is invaded by white men, who imprison the natives and take them to Brazil on a slave ship, where they will be sold as slaves. During the trip, Luena is raped by the trafficker Osório, giving birth to Juliana and dying after childbirth. Juliana ends up in Engenho do Sol, in the village of São Salvador, where she is raised by Tia Joaquina and becomes a maid of the Avelar family, being protected by them, which generates the hatred of Esmeria, slave who never received the same privileges. After 20 years, Juliana's relationship with the two heiresses of the sugar mill is completely different: while she is taken as a friend and confidant by Teresa, her younger daughter is also treated with contempt by Maria Isabel, the merciless eldest daughter. The life of Juliana changes with the arrival of Miguel, a Portuguese who is in search of clues on the mysterious death of its father and ends up living a love forbidden with her. The terrible Osorio is also in the village, working as a factor at a nearby farm, and is not only linked to the pains of Juliana's life, although she does not know, as well as Miguel, since he was involved in the murder of the boy's father.[5]
Filming began on May 21, 2015.[6] The telenoved used 4K resolution, a format superior to the traditional HD of 1080i, having a dimension of 3840 pixels, the same used by Hollywood films for definition in cinematographic screens, leaving the images with a cinematographic dress.[7] It was the first Brazilian production among all the stations that used this technology.[8] The episode had a budget of R$350,000.[9]
