Meet Bessie Badilla the First Filipina Carnival Queen in Brazil
DANCE OF MY LIFE is a video documentary that bears witness to Bessie Badilla's poignant story, from her humble childhood in the Philippines, to a celebrated stint as a model for the House of Balenciaga in Paris, and her personal battles as a wife and mother in suburban Connecticut.
Just when life seems to come crashing down on her, Bessie is invited to star in the Carnival in Sao Paulo, Brazil - an unprecedented feat for a non-Brazilian made more significant by the fact that she is a woman "of a certain age." DANCE OF MY LIFE features never-before-seen Carnival footage as three Samba schools allow the crew backstage access to their closely-guarded preparations and introduce Bessie to the meaning of Carnival.
DANCE OF MY LIFE is simultaneously funny and poignant, a mesmerizing conflation of Carnival's intoxicating life-force, and a woman's determined journey to own herself.

