Sururu is a shellfish and culinary delicacy from Maceió, a tourist paradise in Northeastern Brazil. But in the last few years it started to disappear, losing ground to a strange new kind of mussel local fisherman began calling ‘white sururu’.
This exotic species first appeared in 2023 at the same time a rock-salt mine collapsed beneath the Mundaú Lagoon in Maceió. Now, fisherman, shellfish gatherers and scientists argue whether the mining disaster is behind the white sururu plague.
Filmmaker details: João Paulo Vicente
João Paulo Vicente has worked, since 2016, as a researcher, screenwriter and director on documentary and institutional productions, while currently developing his first fiction projects. His debut short documentary “O Dia da Boa Notícia” (2021), co-directed with Lucas Zacarias, was broadcast on TV Cultura and screened at festivals worldwide, including Sheffield DocFest. He subsequently directed the short film “Corpo Vigiado” (2023), which screened at festivals in the United States, Spain, Serbia and Brazil, among other countries. In 2025, he released the short documentary “Sururu Branco”, produced with the support of Canal Futura. The film draws a symbolic parallel between the arrival of an invasive shellfish species and the environmental disaster caused by mining activities in Maceió, Alagoas. Following its premiere on Futura, “Sururu Branco” became available on streaming platforms including Globoplay and Apple TV, and launched its international festival run at the Pêcheurs du Monde Festival in France. It has since screened in Argentina, Colombia, South Korea and India. His fiction projects include the short film “Carranca”, the feature film “Motor de Popa”, and the satirical comedy series “Inteligência”, all currently in development. He is also co-directing the documentary “Convocados da Guiné”, currently in pre-production and selected for the DOCSP Business Roundtable. Selected filmography “O Dia da Boa Notícia” (short documentary, 2021); “Corpo Vigiado” (short documentary, 2023); “Sururu Branco” (short documentary, 2025)