Boi de Conchas (The Shell Covered Ox)

SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL 2023 REVIEW! There’s a bit to unpack with Daniel Barosa’s short film, Boi de Conchas (The Shell Covered Ox), which plays on the Brazilian folklore of an ox named Ratambufe who longs to see the ocean and in fulfilling that promise, its owner sent Ratambufe to a slaughterhouse instead.

Boi de Conchas is the story of a high school teen, Rayane (Bebé Salvego), whose sister has been missing for a considerable amount of time. So much time has passed that her parents have given up hope. To honor her sister, Rayane decides to enter a music festival to play her sister’s bass and clothes. Meanwhile, there has been an epidemic of oxen appearing on the beaches and flooding through town.

“To honor her sister, Rayane decides to enter a music festival to play her sister’s bass and clothes.”

Boi de Conchas has an intriguing take on the Brazilian lore and parallels the sentiment of grief in teens slowly losing hope in the world. For Rayane, her sister’s disappearance has broken her family. Her friends all suffer from various levels of depression and face unexpected challenges in a post-pandemic world.

Daniel Barosa sees these teens as transforming into oxen, and they are forced to wage an internal struggle to stay human and alive. Boi de Conchas is an emotional piece about teens finding hope in the future.

Though seeing oxen appear out of nowhere is a bit strange here in the West, the sentiment is very real with teens today. Bebé Salvego gives a very real and natural performance as Rayane. She carries the emotional weight of the story from start to finish. One just hopes there is light at the end of the tunnel.

Boi de Conchas (The Shell Covered Ox) screened at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival.