Charcoal

Charcoal (Carvão), directed by Carolina Markowicz, is a Brazilian-Argentine black comedy about a family struggling to care for a bedridden father, whose lives change when a shady nurse offers to kill the old man and let them hide a fugitive Argentine drug lord in his place. The director drew on a tough woman she knew in her youth, whose husband barely worked while she ran the household. The film had its world premiere in the Platform section of the Toronto Film Festival, won the director a Screenplay Award at the Rio Film Festival, and holds a 100 percent score from critics on Rotten Tomatoes. Who it's for: anyone curious about a Brazilian film about a family hiding a fugitive drug lord in their home, with an uncompromising sense of black humor. Who it's not for: those wanting a comfortable, predictable family drama, since the film deliberately pushes moral boundaries.