OXYGEN MASKS WILL (NOT) DROP AUTOMATICALLY is a compelling  Brazilian TV mini-series created by Patricia Corso and Leonardo Moreira and directed by Marcelo Gomes and Carol Minêm. In five episodes, it provides an accurate portrait that recreates the feeling of an era (Rio de Janeiro, late 1980s) and relates to the HIV/AIDS crisis in Brazil.  The scenarios may be familiar, but it is the  Brazilian touch and how the potent story is presented that makes the difference.

Deeply moving fictional drama based on true events, allows to get to the close friendship of the three protagonists  whose lives go around vibrant Paradise nightclub  that reminded me of the Kit Kat Ckub, where Raul (Icaro Silva) performs, and Fly Brasil, an international airline  where  Fernando / Nando (Johnny Massaro) and Lea (Bruna Linzmeyer) are First Class flight attendants

Nando is a gay man who enjoys his life to the fullest. At the beginning, Nando hears about the AIDS epidemic but  when his friends and acquaintances begin to die and he gets an HIV positive diagnosis, he changes   Lea has an affair with a married man  (the capitain of the plane) and unexpectedly gets pregnant.

Due to their constant trips to USA / New York City they  have the possibility to buy the then groundbreaking  AZT treatment and smuggle into his home country,  where the disease was ignored and the drug had not been yet approved by local health authorities.

The series calls attention on how Brazilians were living freely and  enjoying to be with each other after a recent brutal dictatorship had ended. With some well done intimate scenes it also refers to the sexual element of their relationships and the pandemic.

The series most impoirtantly also notes the indolence of the Brazilian Authorities, stigmatization after the disease  and prejudices among society.  In the words of its director Marcelo Gomes: “conservatism may destroy human connection”  Although set in the 80s, the series resonates after a recent government that promoted reactionary ideas.

The series is in memory of those who started the fight  against AIDS  in Brazil, a country that became a medical reference on the matter.  It is addresed to the new generations who had no clue of what the AIDS pandemic was.

A highly recommended series with universal connotations, that premiered at Berlin Film Festival  2025, and is now screenng on HBO/Max in Brazil

9/10