'Illegal', a film that shows the fight for medicinal cannabis, celebrates five years

The Brazilian documentary Illegal, which tells the story of mothers who resorted to clandestinity to treat their daughters with medicinal cannabis, is celebrating five years.

To mark the date and the achievements in this half-decade, the protagonists of the film will meet next Tuesday (08) in São Paulo.

The short film that later became a feature film tells the story of Katiele Bortoli Fischer and her daughter Anny. The girl, then 5 years old, suffers from an incurable epilepsy syndrome and, since birth, had frequent seizure episodes, up to 80 per week. The only medication that helped end Anny's seizures was cannabidiol (CBD).

The documentary also shows Margarete Brito's struggle for access to the medication for her daughter Sofia, who has Rett Syndrome, a rare genetic mutation that affects brain development in girls.

Both will be present at the meeting, which will take place at Civi-Co Hall in the Pinheiros neighborhood, western São Paulo. According to the film's director, Tarso Araújo, it will be a conversation about what has changed since the film and what still needs to change.