was this majestic progression, from the first scene to the denouement, the moving camera conducting us like a slow tragic theme tune that recalls a symphony. No TV camera has ever been so complicit and seductive, never has TV been so romantic". Today is Maria's Day (Hoje é Dia de Maria) Over two seasons, Today is Maria's Day (Hoje É Dia de Maria) (2005), a mini-series in which he was also responsible for creation and script, consolidated the director's linguistic research. His co-writers were Luis Alberto de Abreu and Carlos Alberto Soffredini, basing themselves on a selection of stories taken from popular Brazilian oral storytelling tradition, collected by the writers Câmara Cascudo, Mário de Andrade and Sílvio Romero. Art direction by Lia Renha, guest artist Raimundo Rodriguez, direction of photography by José Tadeu Ribeiro and costumes by Luciana Buarque. The 60 marionettes that represented the animals were produced by the Grupo Giramundo, from Minas Gerais state. The work marked the start of the partnership between the director and psychoanalyst Carlos Byington, as advisor on the mythological dramatization of the text. The mini-series was conceived under a 360º dome, scrap from a rock show stage. The sound track, by Tim Rescala, was based on cirandas (traditional dances) by Heitor Villa-Lobos, César Guerra-Peixe and Francisco Mignone. Designer Jum Nakao was responsible for some of the costumes, with animation of the stop-motion scenes by Cesar Coelho, founder of the Anima Mundi festival. It received the 2005 APCA (Associação Paulista de Críticos de Arte) Critics' Choice Award, the ABC Best Photography Award, the Contigo Award for Best Director and Best Child Actress and the Brazil Quality Award (Prêmio Qualidade Brasil ) for Best Director, Television – Best Special Project, Best Author and Best Breakthrough Actress, and reached the finals of the 2005 International Emmy Award, in the categories Best Mini-Series and Best Actress. It was nominated Hors Concours by the Banff World Media Festival, in Canada (2006), and the Input International Board Taipei (2005). Compared with To the Left of the Father on account of its innovative television language, it caught the attention of critics and public by its novel, theatrical and playful language in transporting the universe of popular culture to a sophisticated television production, without losing its authenticity. The critic Nilson Xavier considers it one of the most poetic, original and beautiful productions of recent years. According to Jean-Philippe Tessé, in the