This is the first film from the Trauma manifesto, the good-humored Brazilian answer to the Dogma 95 movement - a variant in that it highlights the terrible obstacles to young film makers in the third world; thus its Portuguese acronym T.R.A.U.M.A. Other TRAUMA rules include the participation of one previous TRAUMA cast member in each film, and revealing the director's name somewhere in the feature. This, the movement's first release, became an instant hit in Brazil, winning the Audience Award at the São Paulo Film Festival only ten days after its first public showing.
The involvement and realism with which actors performed the work was such that the rape scene left real marks on Rennata Airoldi's body. "Since my skin is very white, I got purple on my leg, buttocks, on my arms. We would stop and put ice on and the next day the marks would get stronger. Then, I called Alexandre Stockler and said that it wasn't possible to film it yet", Rennata says, who also hurt her colleagues with the kicks she gave while she struggled in bed.
Rennata Airoldi's debut. She realized what it was all about when she arrived at the test site and saw the apprehension of the other contestants, who were saying phrases like "Did you see that there will be a nude scene?" and "It looks like you have to simulate a striptease in the test." Rennata was among 200 applicants for the role of Joana. The strange proposal, which could scare some of the girls away, was a stimulus for the actress, who was 23 at the time. "When I learned that I would have to be naked, I felt it was a challenge I needed to overcome."
Caio Blat revealed that in addition to all the filming they did for the rape scene, in which two cameras were used, they had to record one for the internet, which was done only with a still camera, as if it were a webcam. The rape uncut version (included as extra in the DVD) is very graphic, showing Blat, Baladez and Bolzan's fully erect penises and the explicit sex between all of them and Airoldi.