When Ninho, the only son in a family taxi business, is born in the backseat of a cab, he mysteriously develops the ability to communicate with cars. After tragedy strikes the family, Uno abandons his mechanical heritage to study ecology and sustainable agriculture. When government interference threatens the family business, Uno returns, and with the help of their eccentric uncle Zé, they refurbish the fleet into sentient supercars, unintentionally accelerating the battle between the future of industry and the future of the planet.

Considering our ever-growing dependence and assimilation with technology, it’s no surprise that films like CHRISTINE and CRASH are merely a jumping-off point for a new wave of filmmakers exploring our relationship with the automobile (check out this year’s Palme d’Or winner at the Cannes Film Festival). KING CAR Director Renata Pinheiro tackles our obsession with consumerism and its clash with our ever-degrading ecosystem, layering in the real-life politics of Brazil’s populist government and an erotic fixation with the cars that are literally speeding us toward an impending ecological apocalypse.