Watch CORREIO, a film celebrating London’s Brazilian food delivery drivers

Correio, a Portuguese word which can loosely be translated as ​“delivery driver”, is a fitting title for director Dan Emmerson​’s new film: a dynamic, compassionate portrayal of Brazilian food delivery drivers in London and the community they’ve built over the pandemic.

Yesterday marked one year since the UK’s first national lockdown was imposed – a year over which Uber Eats, Deliveroo and Just Eat delivery drivers became the country’s unsung heroes. Emmerson wanted to shine a light on the people behind the contact-free deliveries, on the richness of their lives and the circumstances in which they took the job.

Some of them got into delivery driving out of necessity: Brazilian couple Chay and Fernanda had to put their respective careers as a DJ and pastry chef on the backburner, signing up as riders to pay the bills. And after getting used to the sometimes gruelling nature of the job, they found themselves enjoying it.

“I initially made contact with [them] through Instagram,” Emmerson explains, ​“and after meeting near their home in Lambeth, we became friends. They introduced me to other drivers, and I realised it’s a pretty tight-knit community.

“There’s something uniquely warm and endearing about the Brazilian spirit, everyone was so cool. I’m very grateful to have been let into their world for a short while.”

Much of Emmerson’s film was shot at Bravos Motorcycles, a garage in Bethnal Green which kits out many of the riders’ bikes affordably. This is where he noticed Daddy, a vivacious character with neon rimmed glasses, whose bike was decorated with gold tinsel.

“I noticed he whizzed past us on an electric scooter with a Brazilian flag hanging out of his back pocket,” Emmerson recalls. ​“His scene ended up being my favourite.”

CORREIO, above all, lifts the helmet flap on a profession which is so often shrouded in mystery. It celebrates it, bringing the lives of these drivers front and centre to energetic and convivial effect.