A documentary about the historical struggle to have domestic work recognized as a regulated profession in Brazil. The phrase that gives the film its title reveals how the employment relationship blurs when dedication and care are mistaken for affection: an “almost” that permeates everything, producing an almost recognition of rights, an almost class, an almost belonging that never turns into equality. Drawing on the story of Laudelina de Campos Melo — a Black woman who, outraged that violence persisted after abolition, founded the country’s first association of domestic workers in 1936 — the documentary builds a bridge between past and present and lays bare the continuity of a system inherited from slavery. Among unionized and non-unionized workers and new forms of organizing and communication, the film gives visibility to a resistance that runs across generations and reveals a permanent struggle for recognition, basic rights and social justice.

First worldwide screening at the 50th Mostra.