When the Brazilian Government Kidnaped Its Own People | I’m Still Here Q&A

that generation they were in a moment in Brazil an incredible moment musically with bosan NOA this C noo everything was like brilliant and suddenly there was the coup and later the killings so they lost their utopian life this woman had to learn that the utopian yeara was gone and now she had to move on and be brave so she's a great guide I think this movie in a way is a great guide for the future I mean it's to not be naive [Music] anymore whenever uh I have people as accomplish as either of you I

actually love to go back to the beginning and ask what was your first job in you know this industry the first time you felt you could call yourself an actor I know you also you know are a filmmaker so where where did it all begin for you oh to me yeah sure oh my God I am the first okay um so um my parents are not related to the Arts but I asked my mom to go to television to sing this is It's Like The Voice kids stuff like that really and then it was like

I started singing and then some ads and then soap opers and then 40 years doing this wow so it was performing first and then you got into stepping behind the camera as well yeah yes and then I I became a director maybe in almost your the time that you became a writer right yeah when we try to do something else yes yes yes yeah it is good and for you I was forced to be an yeah forced yeah I wanted to be a doctor but I was forbidden because my parents they dragged me to theater

where they were so I and then at the age of 30 I gave up I wanted to do something else but it was too late and I started to write but I mean my parents they are actors yeah and they did it mostly from Tuesday to Sunday so to be with them I had to go to the theater and it destroyed my life were you acting as a child I started acting at 13 okay I start like seven wow eight yeah it's crazy Survivor yeah so I'm normally myself I'm normally against child labor but in

this case I'd say it worked out pretty well so I can't actually object well again congratulations on on a fantastic movie um I know this film is obviously set during a very tumultuous time but I I'm curious what you knew about the Piva family or or what you thought you knew prior to coming to the story well Marcel when he wrote his first book he just had the accident that paralyzed him and this young boy 20 years old beautiful intelligent he wrote this book when he were recovering and he became like a sex symbol of

my generation I mean he was so he was everybody was crazy about him so that's how I met him later we became friends uh and I always knew that his father has been killed and tortured during the dictatorship but it was a story that you just had the headlines yeah we never knew the details not even the family the family just discovered the details on 2014 when it really came out so when he wrote the book now I just ran to to discover what happened to the family and then I discovered not only hubin spiva

the father but this amazing woman that I knew because his first book was adapted to theater and beautiful place and there was this mother amazing mother that was on was the first contact with the on for me was as the mother of marel wow and so for you what what did you know about this story prior to this project beginning it's similar because um uh I'm I became marcelo's friend like I don't know 25 years ago and and exactly what she said he was like a hero for us because he he when he had his

accident he wrote about it and and and delivered this amazing book about his life and and the accident the whole thing it was like amazing book so it became very famous then do we have a lot of friends in common I never thought that one day I could play his father and then vter came with this book and this idea to to tell the story which is very personal to vter because vter was very close friend to this family vter sales was friend of one of the the sisters so he was there during the ch

childhood living that house so he remembers this house with the very Progressive thoughts it was the first time he thought like great music great stories about Arts politics Etc so this house this man this woman this boy this atmosphere it's magical to him and one day doors closed windows closed and I was like what's going on so they they took it off Hing but why and so and now so it's be beautiful I mean it's sad but it's beautiful the how art can bring this uh thoughts to memories memories and thoughts yeah yeah and and

this movie really is vter opening again that house for him and for the audience which is such a beautiful metaphor know for Cinema I was thinking you know when I learned about his connection to to the family those scenes we see at the opening where everyone in the neighborhood's just kind of welcome and the doors are always open like wter was part of that one of the boys he was one of those boys that's amazing knowing knowing martello personally though um did he come to you and ask you to take on this project or did

you go and ask his permission how did it how did it sort of work yeah then I when vter invited me to do hubing definitely I I I spoke to Marcelo and he was very supportive with this idea which was a a blast because then you feel more confident to do this such important character and then yeah and then we we we spoke a lot about how was how was his father I mean the the mood more than I was more interesed to understand uh the mood of this guy more than how he walks or

how he talks Etc because yeah because we have like half hour to to do this character uh remarkable enough to resonate during the film so it was hard it was was hard mission for for us for me and valter because so much has only been learned recently about what happened were you were there materials to draw on that you could you know sort of get a feel for him or even the sound of his voice or his look yeah just photographs wow yeah I had just photographs and then that's why I say it's like it's

more a spiritual approach to this character in a very respectful way and pray pay a tribute to this man and through this man to countless families who live the same story yeah yeah I was not the first pick oh come on that's life yeah all that all that matters is that you were the final pick that's it and then and first vter gave me the script as a friends and read and see what you think and I said very good vter it's a very good script then we were together and one day he called me

and said let's have a coffee I want to talk about a project with you and I thought he was going to ask me to write something for him a script something because I have been doing comedy lately a lot of Comedy you see so I thought I was lost to drama with vter I thought I was lost really lost and we had this great partnership from foreign land the first film we did was like a formative film to all of us and then he invited me to do onia I was like really are you sure

and then I worked really hard wow yeah I mean you must have also felt an extra responsibility to Marcelo because you know this is his mother as well to everybody I mean to especially toi we had vter selt on all of us and I think we had this this woman she so the dignity that she faced I mean State violence that she reacts the intelligence the smile she always had the smile I mean Marcelo the other day said something wonderful in an interview he said that she said we are not victims the country is a

victim so the this way of uh because you know some things that are not in the movie they were like uh expelled from society when he died they were like Communists it was really tough for her and this woman and she never cried in front of anybody so we had had this this promise to each other to be faithful to her and to do a movie that we wouldn't embarrass her doing a Melo drama you know uh so she was the one who guided us the way she behaves in life I think I I heard

Marcelo talking about how like she she kind of didn't have time to cry she had to move forward move on I mean no place for self-pity with a it's a great lesson because you know I think this generation it's similar to us I think now because that generation they were in a moment in Brazil an incredible moment musically with bosan NOA that's her generation bosan NOA osar Maya L Bard in architecture Elia paping Arts the cinema noo everything was like Brilliance and suddenly there was the coup and later the killings so they lost their utopian

life this woman had to learn that the utopian era was gone and now she had to move on and be brave and I think we all now experiment the same kind of thing we lived 20 years of democ democratic Democratic peace I think and suddenly the world is not at peace everything's turned up upside down uh religious fundamentalism a lot of things that we thought was over even the the idea of human rights that we thought was something that we all agreed now it's gone so she's a great guide I think this movie in a

way is a great guide for the future I mean it's to not be naive anymore that's what is asked from from her I think and she didn't just Sur she thrived I mean becoming a lawyer at 46 with five children was incredible I mean with no money because she lost her her economies it's unbelievable yeah how else did the two of you go about preparing to play these characters I mean what what did you have to draw on and how you know uh uh you're not tied to doing an imitation of anyone you're just trying

to capture their Spirit where do you even begin with the photographs right yeah this there's this beautiful story that Fernanda remember I I didn't remember this and she she she said this other day it was beautiful remembering that the we start this process doing the photographs the because there's a lot of photographs during the film so this was the beginning for us we put the the costumes and then it go and then you have to do exactly the same position of the face and it was interesting to start with that because it was film was

photographed in a film about memory with photographs was so important it was very interesting I love I love that you remember this I I I didn't was the first week of shooting was the phot the photograph photographs I mean as soon as he called me I prepared myself I never worked with a coach before but then I got a coach yeah but never like that and then I prepared myself to read to the first reading because I thought I cannot lose this job in the first reading so I really have to try then I had

this uh coach was really amazing just myself and her for a month and then I did the reading I and I started to discover her and then during the process we had another coach because we had a lot of kids oh yeah so we needed someone to create the the feeling of a family and you say something about the kids that they they were not actors and they used to say we were in our school one day and someone said you want to make a movie and now look at us and they started to tell

us you know now when I watch movies I see oh it's a closeup look it was beautiful beautiful process and then I told them in Venice listen from now it's all the way down because exactly it just started at the top and misery what you have but they brought us this freshness yeah I mean and everything in this movie is so real it's very close to documentary yeah I mean I remember the first time I put a beautiful 70 costume and Vault told our great great uh costume designer it's not fashion and then we were

wearing this awful it was like I said I'm not ashamed Claudia to bring me this kind of but it's perfect because we look real you can smell the uh I don't know that kitchen smells like garlic you can see it in the movie and it's very rare I think nowadays because it's like movies had its own codes so we scream like we scream in the movies we cry like we cry the movies or we dress as in the movies so you have the 70s from the movies and it's very difficult to do not do it

and V did it and it was his vision he really wanted something real I think I mean these young actors are so authentic in a way that I I haven't seen in a long time but I I'm curious um they were new to this but but surely they knew who the two of you were do you think they were ever intimidated not at all because because no because there's this Beautiful Exchange I mean we teach them our craft the technical thing but they teach us a lot about exactly how because back to the beginning of

this conversation I'm an actor since I was kid so when I when I when I uh work with with a kid like this I remember why I'm doing this you know and this is beautiful because at that time you have no Visos you have no references you you're just there you're just just you're just there you're not acting so and so they help us a lot I'm very proud that they are with us in is um poster is that yeah you said poster yeah okay because it means a lot because they right yeah yeah I

love we love these kids and there is for instance at the end not at the end in the middle of the movie when we are leaving the house V shot it chronologically very rare yes and he refused to do not do it chronologically so when selton left oh wow I said tomorrow he won't be here he's my friend I love him his presence in the house and I was left with that guys and they closed the the windows and then they took me from that wonderful house that we're parting with our friends and I was

taken to that prison and when I came back the house was not the same so there was really a parallel between the actors and what was going on with the characters and when we leave the house we have uh one shot of the girl K and she was like looking the set being taken and it was a mixture of her because it was her last day of shooting so that would be over and the character that was losing the house it happened a lot of time in this movie and V knew how to capture it

from us I think I mean something else brilliant he did is he cast your real life mother Fernanda Montenegro it's always good to cast my mother who he yes famously pass that Applause on to her will you let her know yeah I'll will tell her and you know a funny story you know that's in it's more than once happens people saying the makeup artist is amazing wow and I'm almost telling my mother can you take your name out and then I will be you perhaps it to help me did you discuss it all like a

a through line or did she sort of ask you about how you played the character or I mean no no she wanted because as it was chronological she wanted to see me doing it so I did it and V edited some scenes and show it to her and there is the story because there was a whole moment in the movie that it's in the book it's not here when she develops the Alzheimer and my mother was supposed to do it and when she saw me doing the first part she refused to I won't do it

you will do it because I have to be younger you have to be older then they do the makeup on you and that's fine it's a mistake to put me because and then I did it I I thought it was over and then I started the whole new film with alimer but then it was Cuts because it didn't the film didn't need it and it was good because I think if she had done it V would be like my God to cut Fernanda so you don't do it yeah it would be a 4our movie but

then they he cut me he cut the scenes where I cry oh that I heard about this you gave him time C so much got it I mean I'm just throwing out there i' I'd watch A continuing series about about this woman so if he wants to do a sequel he's got some of the footage right there it's there but you know and then she didn't she just did it we didn't discuss but my mother she reminds me uni reminds me a lot of my mother at that age it's the same kind of woman we

have like Italian uh relatives she looks so much like y yeah yeah in the 70s like this so I did my mother um well I want to remind everyone uh please spread the word about this movie I mean I know everybody wants to see it but it is such special film let everyone know I believe it will actually be playing wide in January I believe January 17th January 17th but again thank you so much for being a wonderful audience thankk you very much thank you very much [Music]