One of the most admired writers in the history of Brazilian telenovelas, Aguinaldo Silva is responsible for iconic works such as “Tieta,” “Everything Will Be Well,” and “Her Fate,” as well as writing some of the most notorious villains in the catalog of Brazilian media giant Globo. Silva recently returned to the network’s prestigious prime-time slot with “Three Graces,” seven years after there were rumors of his retirement following “O Setimo Guardión.”
Globo is releasing “Three Graces” internationally this week on Content Americas, deftly taking away the novella’s major momentum back home. Starring some of Brazil’s most popular actors, including Sophie Charlotte (All Flowers), Murillo Benicio (Brazil Avenue) and Graj Massafera (The Hidden Truth), Three Graces tells the story of Charlotte’s blue-collar heroine, Gelluz. She is a woman who tried hard to stop her teenage daughter Joely (Alana Cabral) from doing anything. In the Das Grazas family, the pattern of teenage pregnancies being passed on to single mothers was repeated for generations.
“The Three Graces” was sold in Brazil as a return to Globo’s “novelão” (literally translated as “great novel”). This concept doubles down on perhaps the genre’s greatest strength: its undisputed penchant for melodrama. Who better than Silva to spearhead such a campaign? How many times does Silva stop across the country to monitor the villains’ shameless camp calculations?
In an interview with Variety ahead of Content Americas, Silva emphasized how the novel has a “timeless language.” “This is a genre that relies more on action than emotion, and emotion is something that happens within the characters. It’s been the same since Charles Dickens wrote novels in England and published them one after the other. This is a story of a hero on his way to knowledge. ‘The Three Graces’ is deliberately structured as a melodrama that shoots straight into your veins.”
With a career spanning 40 years, Silva has seen many changes in the industry. Today, he emphasizes the difficulty of capturing the attention of an increasingly tenuous audience, accustomed to the speed of the digital world. “How can you tell a story that spans 170 45-minute episodes when audiences are used to seeing everything they want to see in three minutes? The novella has its own time, and increasingly audiences have their own time. The only option is to double down on the essence of melodrama and the emotions that drive the story forward.”
The inspiration for “Three Graces” came from a visit Silva made to a maternity ward while researching “Duas Caras.” “Pregnant women were standing in long lines,” he recalls. “Most of them were teenagers. That touched me, because the majority were alone or with other women. These were girls who were becoming single mothers. That image stayed with me for years.”
Aguinaldo Silva, provided by Globo
The author attributes the return to the 9pm slot to “gross vices”. “I didn’t think I was retired. I kept making up stories to tell only to myself. Then one day I thought, ‘Why don’t I go back to work? I’m at my happiest when I’m working.’
Despite the “fun” of writing telenovelas, the open nature of the work can be challenging for any writer. Brazilian telenovelas are written at the same time as they are shown, and audience reactions often have a direct impact on the characters’ futures. Silva jokingly attributes his “lack of awareness of danger” to his open work. “Writing a novella is like throwing yourself off a trapeze, knowing there will be no one to catch you when you fall. A novella at 9pm in Brazil is watched by more than 60 million people every week. For a writer, when you can reach the hearts of all these people, it’s just magic.”
Alana Cabral, 18, has experienced this magic firsthand. The newcomer recognized the weight of playing the lead role in Aguinaldo Silva’s prime-time novel early in his career, and says it helped him “grow” a lot in a short period of time. “I was already familiar with[Silva’s]work and had always admired the strength of his female characters. It takes a lot of artistic and emotional maturity to take center stage in his stories so early in your career. I couldn’t be happier.”
Veteran Dilla Paes (“Pantanal”), who plays Joely’s grandmother Ligia, echoed that sense of responsibility, saying the novel was in “direct dialogue” with Brazil. Paes called “The Three Graces” a gift from Silva, praising the story’s touch on themes of intergenerational trauma that speak to universal pain. “Everyone has a similar story in their lives, so the audience can become accomplices.”
Paes has repeatedly said this is a “great time” in his storied 40-year career. In addition to “Three Graces,” the actor also recently starred in “Manas,” directed by Marianna Brennand and starring Sean Penn, which premiered at the 2024 Venice Film Festival and maintained strong enough momentum to even challenge Kleber Mendonça Filho’s international film Oscar chances for “The Secret Agent.” “Brazilian cinema deserves this recognition,” Paes said. “Films are shown across borders, even though they are spoken in Portuguese. This is a global phenomenon.”
“I come from a film background and I’m very proud of Brazilian cinema and Brazilian filmmakers,” the “Sacred Love” actor added. “This is a work of great artistry that has managed to transcend national borders due to the strength of its identity and cultural roots. We are living in a truly special moment when Brazilian cinema is taking root internationally. I feel inspired and I think it’s time to move beyond languages and start working on international co-productions. I feel this is the next step.”
Silva is “very” proud of Brazilian cinema, but reiterates that “we must not forget that Brazilian novellas are also attracting world attention.” “In the audiovisual field, Brazilian film and television have their own rhythm, but they go together.”
