The Endless Night (Todo Dia a Mesma Noite) is a Portuguese miniseries directed by Julia Rezende and Carol Minêm. It is based on the fateful night when a club fire killed 242 people and injured many others. The show contains five episodes written by Gustavo Lipsztein. This miniseries is based on the book The Endless Night: The Untold Story of Kiss Nightclub (2018), written by the award-winning journalist Daniela Arbex.
The show stars Debora Lamm, Thelmo Fernandes, Paulo Gorgulho, Bianca Byington, Leonardo Medeiros, Raquel Karro and Bel Kowarick, along with actors Erom Cordeiro and Laila Zaid playing the police officers. Additionally, Flávio Bauraqui joins the cast as a lawyer, while Paola Antonini, Nicolas Vargas, Manu Morelli, Luan Vieira, Miguel Roncato and Sandro Aliprandini play victims in the show.
This story has been told from the perspective of the families who have been directly impacted by this tragedy. The fight for justice for the victims still continues 10 years after the event. This show tells their story and the criminal investigation that keeps this story alive.
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What Real Life Incident is The Endless Night based on?
This show is based on a real-life fire that took place in Kiss Nightclub in Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil killing 242 people. Six university students organised a party at the aforementioned club and invited nearly a thousand people to join in. This number exceeded the maximum capacity of the club by hundreds.
The fire was caused by a pyrotechnic device lit on stage when the performers were playing music on stage. The flammable foam lit up, spreading quickly. There were no exits in the club except for the front door. Many people at the club died in restrooms assuming they were exits. Most people succumbed to smoke inhalation that night.
However, some people succumbed to their severe burn injuries in the next few days. The death toll for this tragic incident was extremely high, garnering international attention and response. The nightclub owners were extremely spooked, one even attempted suicide in his hospital room. However, he was stopped from doing so after a guard standing outside the room intervened.
The fire department started conducting an investigation and found that the place was not authorised to use fireworks inside and had no emergency exits. They also noted that a permit was issued to have them operate even though these safety codes were not met. The fire extinguishers in the club were also non-functional, which incriminated the City Hall and fire department even deeper in the crime.
Kiss Nightclub owner took to court and declared that it was the country that had failed the victims and their families. He also pinned the blame on the architects and inspectors who were commissioned with ensuring the building’s safety. This fire led to the closure of 58 other nightclub spots the day after this declaration.
Brazil’s President at the time stepped away from the summit of the EU and the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean in Santiago, Chile. He visited the victims’ families and declared three days of mourning in the country. Additionally, Santa Maria also declared 30 days of mourning. Apart from closing 58 nightclubs, around a couple thousand clubs in Brazil were checked for their safety features.
Players at football matches wore black armbands to show support for the Kiss Nightclub victims. Additionally, Argentina showed support by sending skin grafts and other resources to Brazil. In December 2021, the trial for manslaughter against the two nightclub owners and the band members began.
In ten days, the four of them were found guilty of the charges placed against them. The nightclub owners got 22 and 19 years in prison, respectively, and the band members were given a jail term of 18 years each.
While the show did focus on the larger event, it largely focused on the association of the victim’s families that led the criminal cases. Their problems and struggles were largely highlighted in this show, making it specific and relevant to more audiences.
The Endless Night is available to stream on Netflix.
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