The articles written by the PÚBLICO Brasil team are written in the variant of the Portuguese language used in Brazil.
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Awarded by the audience at the Queer Lisboa 2024 Festival, the film Heartless arrives in commercial circuit rooms in Portugal this Thursday (10/17). Directed by filmmakers Nara Normande and Tião, the film tells the story of Tamara, played by actress Maya de Vicq, and her teenage discoveries. The plot takes place on the coast of Alagoas in the summer of 1996. Tamara is saying goodbye to the place where she grew up before moving to Brasília. One day, he hears about a girl they call Heartless, played by Eduarda Samara, due to a scar on her chest.
The international trajectory of the work began in 2023, at the Venice Festival. Since then, it has toured several festivals around the world, such as Japan, Cuba, South Africa and Sweden, until arriving in Portugal, where it was awarded by the Queer Lisboa audience last month. “We are trying to reach as many people as possible, in the most diverse countries. We were in Japan, and the connection they had with the film was very good. There, we received a jury prize. The public really connected with the film. Mainly, with the sensorial aspect it carries. I think Japanese people are more rational. In the debate, there was a viewer who said that he was rationalizing a lot while watching the film. So he stopped rationalizing and allowed himself to get into the story. It was a really cool return”, comments Nara.
When asked questions about the meaning of the work, the directors try not to give details. “We try not to say too much, because that invites us to spoil the film for people. Each one has their own universe and their interpretation. If we say what we think, the viewer may think it is wrong, when in fact it is not. The film always invites creative contributions”, says Tião.
Start of everything
The project Heartless It began with a short filmed 10 years ago by the duo and premiered at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival, where it was awarded an award. He also received several awards in Brazil and other countries. When writing the first script, the duo realized that they had left out some situations. “When we went to make the short, we didn’t plan on turning it into a feature film. Afterwards, we realized that that universe was very interesting and full of complexities”, recalls Nara. “It was a remarkable experience with the boys and with Duda, who plays the character in the short and feature film”, he adds.
Given everything they had experienced and felt, the directors were shaken and the idea of extending the film came up. “A couple of years later, we really started writing and putting the project forward”, says Nara. “We were happy with the result of the short. We went on to other projects. But we had the feeling that we had more things to look at in that place. And We both noticed that”, adds Tião.
The film was produced by filmmaker Kleber Mendonça Filho and Emilie Lesclaux. It is a co-production between Brazil, France and Italy. “When we started developing the project, the notices were frozen in Brazil. The president was Michel Temer and with Jair Bolsonaro it was even worse. Emilie and Kleber already had support that they gained because of the result of Aquarius. It was automatic financial support. So we had this money”, comments Tião.
But there was more support for the work. “We received a little from the government of the state of Pernambuco, however, the resources were still insufficient. So, we went to look for support in France, and an Italian producer ended up being interested as well. We brought these two countries together and that’s how we managed to raise a little more money ”, details the director. “There was Rai, in Italy, which was the first to enter. In France, it was the CNC, Cinema do Mundo, in which a film not spoken in French can raise funds of up to 250 thousand euros (R$). 1.5 million). It was a difficult selection, but we passed”, adds Nara.
When foreign resources are received, Brazilian production, on the other hand, has to have professionals from supporting countries working on the film. “In the case of France, we had Russian Evgenia Alexandrova, who directed photography. The special effects, color correction and mixing were all done in France. Italy was responsible for the sound editing and the purchase of some songs. We shared it”, explains Nara.
The film Heartless It has already had commercial distribution in France, Italy and Brazil. In Portugal, it will be shown at Cinema City Alvalade in Lisbon. In Coimbra, it will be shown at Casa do Cinema and, in Porto, at Cinema Trindade.
