Blogue que nasceu em 2009, quando eu ainda era adolescente. Hoje, já não o sou, mas continuo com muitas inquietações, desejos e paixões. Aqui, poderão acompanhar o meu dia-a-dia sem filtros, mas sempre, com muitas gargalhadas!
Em Setembro: lê as entrevistas EXCLUSIVAS aos realizadores Miguel Gonçalves Mendes, Gonçalo Almeida e ainda ao Director do MOTELX Pedro Souto! =D
Hoje falarei sobre os 4 filmes que vi dia 5 de Setembro, no 2º dia da 12.ª edição do MOTELX.
Depois de uma Sessão de Abertura incrível, nada melhor que começar a tarde com um filme de terror!
Às 14h15, na sala Manoel de Oliveira, vi o filme We (Holanda, 2018).
Sinopse: Durante um Verão lânguido numa aldeia perto da fronteira entre a Holanda e Bélgica, oito adolescentes procuram excitação e sexo. Tudo começa com umas partidas relativamente inocentes, mas rapidamente apercebem-se que não é suficiente. Os seus jogos sexuais transformam-se gradualmente em pornografia, prostituição e chantagem, e os adolescentes entram numa espiral negra até ao momento em que algo grave acontece.
E este foi o bilhete que deu acesso ao filme We
Não irei falar muito sobre este filme, porque quero mesmo que o vejam. Não é um típico "Morangos com Açúcar", pois tem qualidade de fotografia, argumento e... interpretações. E quando um grupo de jovens se junta e são simplesmente... jovens? E quando algo acontece? A sério, vejam, vão gostar!
Às 17h05, na sala 3, vi o filme Fake Blood (Canadá, 2017).
Sinopse: Há anos que o realizador Rob Grant produz filmes de terror com o seu melhor amigo, o actor Mike Kovac. O par tornou-se conhecido no circuito dos festivais devido a filmes como "Yesterday" ou "Mon Ami". Um dia, Grant recebe um vídeo perturbador de um fã inspirado por uma cena de um filme seu. Este episódio fá-lo questionar-se acerca da responsabilidade dos cineastas em retratarem a violência no cinema. Juntamente com Kovac, decidem fazer um documentário explorando o tema. Para isso, são introduzidos involuntariamente no mundo real de criminosos e das suas vítimas.
E este foi o bilhete que deu acesso ao filme Fake Blood
Pronto, aqui entrei em curto-circuito. Fui ver este filme como um Documentário... e, no fim, pensei que talvez tivesse sido enganado. Bom, a premissa é muito interessante: são os realizadores dos filmes de terror, "responsabilizáveis", por actos de violência? Na minha perspectiva, qualquer forma de Arte, é catalisadora de acções e, consequentemente, os filmes de terror podem servir de inspiração a alguém que já tenha esse tipo de... motivação. O filme dá-nos a conhecer algo que é comum entre quem assina conteúdos públicos: o contactado por um fã, que presta-se a auxiliar o eu lírico presente na Arte em questão. Neste caso, um espectador dos filmes de terror, faz um vídeo a indicar qual o melhor material existente no mercado, para desmembrar uma pessoa. Ora, o filme vai acontecendo e eu começo a ficar na dúvida se toda aquela trama aconteceu efectivamente, ou se é apenas um filme que, serve de alerta, para estes casos e põe-se a velha questão dos "limites da Cinematografia"...
Às 19h00, na sala 3, vi o filme Four Hands (Alemanha, 2017).
Sinopse: Após Sophie e Jessica terem testemunhado o brutal assassinato dos país quando eram crianças, Jessica prometeu proteger para sempre a sua irmã mais nova. Com o passar dos anos, esta promessa tornou-se uma obsessão. Agora, Jessica sofre de paranóia e vê por toda a parte ameaças contra si e a sua irmã. Mas Sophie quer viver uma vida normal sem medo e sem a sua irmã. Quer tornar-se pianista e namorar. Quando os autores do homicídio são libertados após uma pena de 20 anos, Jessica fica chocada e quer confrontá-los. Mas um acidente vai mudar tudo. A promessa de Jessica irá tornar-se num pesadelo existencial.
E este foi o bilhete que deu acesso ao filme Four Hands
A curta, Hair Wolf (EUA, 2016), que iria anteceder ao filme, não foi exibida por falta de tempo.
Excelente filme! Óptima fotografia! É, evidentemente, uma grande produção mas consegue manter-se intimista. As personagens principais são bastante desenvolvidas, o que proporciona-nos emoções aquando do final da estória. Aborda um tema importante, a doença mental, mais concretamente a esquizofrenia. Recomendo-vos este filme, mais que não seja, pelas boas interpretações! =)
Às 21h15, na sala Manoel de Oliveira, vi o filme Cold Skin (Espanha, 2017).
Sinopse: Nos limites do círculo Antártico, pouco depois do término da 1.ª Guerra Mundial, um barco a vapor aproxima-se de uma ilha desolada longe das rotas marítimas. A bordo encontra-se um jovem, prestes a assumir o cargo de observador meteorológico e a viver em solidão no fim da terra. Mas em terra não encontra vestígios do homem que vinha substituir, apenas um náufrago que testemunhou um horror do qual se recusa falar. Durante os próximos 12 meses, o seu mundo consistirá de uma cabana, árvores, rochas, silêncio e mar em redor. Até que a noite começa a cair...
E este foi o bilhete que deu acesso ao filme Cold Skin
A curta, Coração Revelador (Portugal, 2018), antecedeu ao filme. Esta curta de 10 minutos, está muitíssimo bem feita! Não posso mentir-vos: era a minha grande aposta para vencer o Prémio de Melhor Curta de Terror Portuguesa e, consequentemente, 5000€... Adoro este texto, há vários anos e, tive a oportunidade de entrevistar a grande realizadora desta Curta - São José Correia. Irei abster-me de contar o que quer que seja, pois acho tudo óptimo mas, ao pedirem-se para destacar uma única coisa, ela é a caracterização dos actores... simplesmente, incrível! Vejam (e leiam) Edgar Allan Poe.
Este filme é a prova como uma estória clássica, associada a um grande orçamento mais a questão in do momento (Ambiente), resulta de 100 minutos bem passados... um filme típico para "pipocar". Há que começar por os factos que salvam o filme: as interpretações de Ray Stevenson e de David Oakes e ainda, a cena debaixo de água. O pior é mesmo aquilo que é mais difícil de fazer, quando se tem as mãos grandes e tenta-se ir buscar algo atrás do armário... simplesmente, não resulta. A caracterização dos seres aquáticos, é simplesmente medonha.... mas pronto, é um filme de terror e tal... Vendo isto tudo num outro prisma, podemos reflectir sobre as questões psíquicas que os faroleiros (e marinheiros), podem estar sujeitos... o final acabou por ser positivo, mantendo (corrigindo) a trama.
Embora não pareça, já estamos no Outono e, como tal, a Modus Vivendi, apresenta-nos a sua linha pré-Inverno, com inspirações claras à vida marítima! Já sei, já sei, calma... o modelo desta campanha é o Alexandr Sadykh (eis o seu Instagram) e, as fotos, foram tiradas em Moscovo, na Rússia! =)
A linha Marine, é composta por cuecas (em vários modelos), boxers, camisolas à cava e T-shirts. A palete de cores utilizada, tem inspiração naval, com a aplicabilidade do branco, azul, e vermelho. Tal como foi tendência este Verão, a Modus Vivendi, traz para esta colecção, as clássicas riscas Breton que, se formos bem originais, irão transformar-nos de marinheiros a piratas! Vai uma luta de espadas?
A Modus Vivendi não pára de inovar! Desta vez, as cuecas, apresentam o novo logótipo: "MV"! =D
Visto que o tecido é em viscose e elastano, é confortável e perfeito para quem pratica desporto e, assim, ganhar um verdadeiro estilo náutico! Esta tendência não tem idade, e já agora pergunto: já reuniram a vossa tripulação? Com este tempinho, ainda dá para uns mergulhos e aproveitar o calor!
Como prometido no mês passado, onde mostrei-vos como são os pacotes que chegam ao destino que escolhemos, quando fazemos a nossa encomenda, é a vez de revelar a primeira peça que...
Sabem aquele livro que saiu este mês, sobre as pessoas LGBT's? Fui convidado a participar todavia, por motivos alheios à oferta deste texto para publicação, o mesmo não foi integrado no projecto.
Tendo em conta que o texto é sobre alguém que admiro muitíssimo, e como penso que ninguém deve ser privado de se exprimir (mesmo no anonimato), ofereço-vos (tal como sempre), estas palavras! =)
"Sabem aquela paixão, quando somos putos, por um ídolo famoso? Eu fui uma vítima dessa onda!
Só aos 16 anos, é que passei a ter net. Até lá, e durante o meu crescimento, as figuras masculinas que me suscitavam interesse sexual, eram aquele modelos bombados em fatos de banho, ou o Ricky Martin (aquela grande bechona!). Eram estas personagens, que despoletavam a seiva natural existente na minha pessoa. Entre os tantos homens musculados que apareciam nas revistas, nem todos eram giros. Os giros, eram os outros – os homens normais. Esta fase, foi a mais difícil da minha vida, um autêntico “winter is coming” (ou, em dias mais felizes, cumming): aprendi a ler tarde, não tinha amigos, era sempre o último a ser escolhido para jogar à bola, os rapazes gozavam comigo, o cancro de mama da minha tia… enfim, uma infância perfeitamente normal. Tinha défice de referências, ídolos, homens de como gostaria de ser; sem plumas, sem palavras de ordem, sem merdas – simplesmente, seguir as pisadas de alguém. Mas de quem? Quem seria essa pessoa? Quem?...
Diogo Infante, sempre foi para mim, o inacessível. O inalcançável. Conto pelos dedos de uma mão, quantos dos artistas que temos, que tenho a certeza que poderiam ter sucesso “lá fora” e, este, é um deles. O Diogo Infante, não despertava as hormonas que estavam em mim; suscitava o meu cérebro. Ambicionava-o. Queria ser como ele. “Mas, como ele, como?” Não sei. Ter aquele sorriso naturalmente charmoso, ser intelectualmente desafiante, e ter um olhar doce e confiante.
O Diogo Infante, foi a minha primeira paixão.
Como todas as paixões, esta também era possível, sendo para isso, que ambos o quisessem. E, para mim, era só uma questão de tempo… tempo de crescer.
À medida que ia amadurecendo, mais distanciava-se esta paixão. Mais tomava consciência que a homofobia existia. Mais tomava consciência que, não é por gostarmos de um homem, que ele também gostaria de nós… enfim, a dura realidade que a heterossexualidade existe! Ao mesmo tempo, ele, ia fazendo coisas mais e mais incríveis; enquanto eu, rezava a todos os santinhos (e mais alguns!), para passar àquele teste de matemática e, as minhas maiores preocupações, restringiam-se à escola. Era um fosso sem fim.
Para minha enorme surpresa, soube que o meu homem (entre aspas, claro!...), afinal seria gay! Pensei logo: “Como é que um homem destes é gay?”! É verdade, também existem gays bonitos e, nem todos têm de ser acéfalos, ou passar os dias a levantar ferro. Então, e passados tantos anos, cheguei à conclusão, que ainda poderia ter esperança! Ainda poderia existir, o mais belo casal gay em Portugal! E, ainda por cima, ele joga ténis 2 vezes por semana – há algo mais masculino, num homem, do que os seus bíceps bem treinados?... Não contando com os bíceps do braço direito dos solteiros, óbvio.
Durante anos, ecoava nos meus sonhos mais românticos (e, também, nos libidinosos!), a voz deste homem: confiante, amigável, e serena. Aliás, a sua voz, faz levantar qualquer bandeira… Desculpem, não resisti àquela piada nerd eurovisiva!
Há pouco tempo, revi o Diogo. Sim, ele mesmo!! Então? Bom, fui ver a peça “Quem Tem Medo de Virginia Woolf?”, ali, no Teatro da Trindade. OMFG! Como seria normal, não decepcionou. Há sempre aquela coisa, “não queiras conhecer o teu ídolo, para não teres uma desilusão”… bardamerda para os coninhas! Depois de ter perdido o cantor Peter Burns (ainda hoje, ele dá-me volta à cabeça!), encaro os ídolos de uma forma mais humana e, o Diogo, é isso mesmo. Poderia agora, rasga-lo de elogios, patati patata, mas todos nós sabemos quanto vale o “nosso homem” – ele é, o Cristiano Ronaldo da representação e eu… sei lá, o apanha bolas?!
Porque isto é a vida! Nasci em 1992 (oh yeah, um “garoto”, como se diz no Grindr… aliás, eu não sei! Apenas ouvi de relance na rua…!) e, o Papai, em 1967. 25 anos separam os nossos caminhos. Ao longo destes anos, floresci. Aprendi a maior de todas as lições: não devemos idolatrar as pessoas, apenas as suas acções. E mais: devemos, todos, fazer uma reflexão. Olhar para dentro de nós próprios, e ver que, não devemos seguir cegamente os outros – mesmo quando julgamos serem perfeitos –, devemos ser o exemplo de nós próprios, devemos ser o Sol, e não procurar o Sol nos demais. A escuridão que todos temos, não é solução de nada… como diria a outra, “Je suis Malade”. O Sol está em nós, tal como o vazio. Os nossos amigos (amigos mesmo amigos, não aqueles a quem proporcionamos, ou que nos proporcionam, “finais felizes”), família (o Bobi conta, ‘tá?!), e aqueles momentos que nos dão prazer (como ler um livro técnico, ouvir os Kazaky, ou descer a Avenida da Liberdade [não a subir, claro, que subir cansa as pernas]), são os ingredientes para viver bem! E é isso que tento fazer, todos os dias: juntar as quantidades certas destes três ingredientes, para ter um bom futuro e é isso que vai acontecer. Mais do que rever-me nos outros, revejo-me nas minhas acções e, não preciso de ninguém, para certificar se aquilo que faço é bom ou mau… isso, aprenderei sozinho, tal como cada um de nós aprenderá. A ambição dos vizinhos, envenena os nossos sonhos. E, o meu sonho, é só ser feliz. Conseguirei algum dia?
É isto que mais gosto das pessoas – serem reais. Não terem aqueles tiques de vedetismo, ou aquele desdém que muitos psudo-artistas têm, quando só têm no cérebro serradura. Ser um ídolo, é ser mais do que a banalidade, mais do que ser vulgar… é ser ímpar na mundanalidade. É isto que é o Diogo: um actor que faz teatro, séries, novelas, filmes (Oh Diogo, desculpa lá que te diga, isto é assim, gosto imenso de ti pá, mas tenho de ser franco contigo: no “Pesadelo Cor-de-Rosa” (1998), a cor de cabelo que estavas a usar, não ficava-te nada bem! Vá, beijinho, era só isto!)... Mas bem, é por isso que ainda admiro o Diogo, passados tantos anos. É um homem, com tantas particularidades como eu, ou tu. Não importa de que equipa possamos jogar, ou que limite possa ter o nosso género… o esforço, a dedicação, e a qualidade, não tem paredes, nem território, simplesmente surge – depende simplesmente de nós. E foi aqui, que surgiu o Diogo Infante: um homem como qualquer um, mas com um dom diferente de todos os outros. Qual é esse dom? Bom, encontrem-no, tal como eu já o descobri!
Ele faz o seu dever. Assim façamos nós o nosso. Bela vida! Boa viagem! Boa viagem! Boa viagem, meu pobre amigo casual, que me fizeste o favor De levar contigo a febre e a tristeza dos meus sonhos, E restituir-me à vida para olhar para ti e te ver passar. Boa viagem! Boa viagem! A vida é isto...
Entrevistei, pessoalmente, o francês Yann Gonzalez, realizador de "Knife+Heart" - uma longa-metragem de Terror com temática gay! A entrevista aconteceu aquando da 12.ª edição do MOTELX - Festival Internacional de Cinema de Terror de Lisboa, que se realizou no Cinema São Jorge.
Visto que a língua de conversação foi o inglês, resolvi não traduzir o que foi dito (quem não está à vontade com o inglês, basta ir ao canto superior direito do blog, ao "Translate", e seleccionar a língua mais conveniente). A entrevista, foi gravada por meio digital, e foi totalmente transcrita assegurando assim, a naturalidade de uma conversa que durou mais de 10 minutos onde, claro está, foi uma enorme honra para mim puder fazer todas as perguntas que tinha planeado... e ter respostas incríveis!
O realizador e argumentista francês Yann Gonzalez
Lisboa, 8 de Setembro de 2018, no Cinema São Jorge.
Adolescente Gay: How was your childhood and how does it connect with the projects that you’ve made? Yann Gonzalez: I think that most of my films and what I’m trying to do, in general, is connected to my childhood. Childhood, to me, is like the basis of everything. I would say childhood and teenage years, so it extended to the teenage years.
It’s funny that you’ve asked this question because yesterday I went to Cascais to see a kind of healer, a French woman, that a friend told me about and she told me that I was 80 % a child still today.
AG: How does journalism enter in your life? YG: To me, it’s not a very important thing. It was a way just to stay connected to the cinema and to make a life out of it. To me, it was only a game, not something very serious.
So I had some fun and it was very happy years but to me, it was not something important.
I really wanted to make films.
AG: Did you go to college and study cinema? YG: Yes I went to college, a public college, where I learned about film theory, nothing practical. We were not making films out there. We were just watching films, trying to analyze them and I had the most wonderful teacher in Paris, Nicole Brenez. She’s in charge of the Experimental Program at the French Cinematéque still today, and she opened my eyes to lots of different films and styles of images.
AG: How did you arrive at your last project “Knife + Heart”? YG: To me, it’s a film that combines, in a very excessive way, lots of obsessions and that it’s trying to mix different genres to a point of no return in a way.
I think it’s the last film that I’ll try to do this way, in terms of mixing genres together, because I feel like I’m a bit fed up with people talking about my references, my favourite filmmakers.
It’s true. It’s very important in my life as much as a movie lover and a filmmaker but I just want to get rid of this and make something maybe simpler and with only one wave of emotions. To me, it was maybe one of my most experimental films, in terms of mixing genres.
AG: How was your experience this year in Cannes, given the case that your movie was nominated? YG: It was super intense. It was something out of this world. It was a dream coming true because since I’m a kid, I want to make movies. Since I wanted to make movies, my craziest dream has been to go to official competitions in Cannes.
It was a bit weird to go there with my second feature film because now I don’t have a better dream than this one.
So I was floating. I was on air but at the same time, I was not. I think I tried to protect myself from this intensity, from all these intense and contradictory feelings that I was receiving.
AG: So you had a sense that you were more than 80 % child that time? YG: Oh yeah. I was like 95 %.
AG: Why did you choose Vanessa Paradis? YG: Because she’s an icon. Because I think she’s a great actress. I think she has this inner child that is very visible, very important. Our connection went through this inner child in each other.
AG: So you recognized one in the other? YG: Yes.
AG: What was the biggest challenge in shooting the movie? YG: It was super difficult. I think it was the most challenging thing that I’ve ever made. Everything is difficult but this one was excruciating. To me, it was like a big, big challenge since we didn’t have a big budget. We had like 2,6 million which is nothing because we had so many characters, so many actors, so many locations, special effects and animals shooting on film.
So, all of this was super expensive and every time I was going on set, every day, we tried to create a new challenge for every shot, for every sequence. To us, it was really important.
AG: Why did you make a horror film that is porno-gay? YG: Because I heard of this amazing character, a woman surrounded by a group of men and dominating them.
I thought it was really interesting. I think I’m a kind of sex-obsessed.
I like eroticism in film so when I heard of this woman working in the sex industry, I was really excited.
The silliness of the films she made. I like being silly in my films. I don’t take myself very serious. I just, as the woman told me yesterday, want to have fun and be a kid on my set and play with my images, with my actors, just to laugh.
I respect my characters a lot and I take them very seriously but at the same time being silly with your characters, to me, is taking them seriously.
AG: Do you think that the gay community is particularly susceptible to this kind of horror? YG: Yes, because to me there is something about transgression in horror films and when you’re a kid, when you feel that you are gay, there’s a kind of transgression within you.
So when you see those kinds of films, which are very transgressive, which are breaking and fighting the norm, it’s a bit of a mirror image of your own struggle.
It’s empowerment at the same time. It’s like your inner self, your secret self, your secret homosexuality exploding with the blood and splatter.
AG: What is the relationship between M83 and the movie and particularly with you? YG: Well he’s my brother. It’s difficult to talk about my brother. When we work together he’s someone very demanding, very doubtful as I am but in a more secret way.
I think he was very scared of making this film because it was a lot of new things for him like making the soundtrack of a porn film for instance. He’s not sex-obsessed like I am so I think it was something may be difficult for him.
At one point he was not finding the right tone, the right colour of the soundtrack and we kind of fought because of this, but then when he found the first theme that was right, it was marvellous.
AG: Considering that my blog is addressed to the gay community, what message would you like to give to Portuguese readers? YG: Be joyful. Embrace life. Embrace your partners. Embrace sex. Just be yourself and don’t be afraid of anything.
Caso queiram falar comigo, também estou sempre disponível.
E-mail - adolescentegay92@gmail.com
Trailer de "Knife+Heart" (título original: Un couteau dans le coeur), de Yann Gonzalez, 2018.
E hoje termino de contar-vos, as minhas comprinhas deste Verão, aquando dos Saldos. Na semana passada, contei-vos da compra que fiz na Cortefiel - um fato de 200€. Mas, agora, vem a questão: e que tal uma camisa e uma gravata, para acompanhar? E não é que pensamos na mesma coisa!? xD
Clica na imagem para ampliar!
Claro, para um fato daqueles, ia precisar de comprar uma bela camisa e uma gravata! De facto, a Zara tem tudo! Já lá fui comprar tanta coisa! Em 2015, fui à Black Friday (tal como em 2016, e 2017). Fiz lá compras nos Saldos de Inverno de 2016 e 2017, e de Verão, em 2016, também 2017 e agora, 2018!
Clica na imagem para ampliar!
É momento de avançarmos (sem descontos)! A gravata grená (tamanho único), no exterior é 100% seda (amoreira), e custou 19,95€. A camisa branca básica (tamanho M), super slim fit, com 78% em algodão, custou-me o mesmo. Assim, o gasto nestes saldos foi de 239,90€ (tendo poupado 38,99€).
Porque a Eurovisão também serve para reflectir. Itália, este ano, representou todos nós. Obrigado!
As aulas estão a começar! Sim!! Começo agora o meu último ano de faculdade! Por um lado, estou mega feliz - vou ser Licenciado e, assim, tenho mais hipóteses de ter uma vida melhor. Por outro, morro de medo - e se o futuro não será tão risonho quanto penso? Não importa nada disso agora.
Adoro esta imagem. Porque realmente penso que as coisas são assim: o medo vem durante a noite e, é a nossa infantilidade, que o afasta. Sinceramente, penso só temos a crescer, se mantivermos (conscientemente), a nossa meninice acordada, e de bem connosco próprios. É urgente mantermos sanidade nos nossos corações, apesar de tudo aquilo que possa acontecer - o medo não vencerá!
Vamos agora ao balanço, deste 2.º Ano de "Vida Universitária". Perante o que aconteceu no último Semestre, era normal arranjar um novo grupo de trabalho. Mantive a rapariga com quem trabalhei bem, e resolvemos juntar as melhores pessoas com quem já tínhamos trabalhado. Para que tudo corresse bem, eu e a minha colega seriamos os "chefes"/"responsáveis" pelos trabalhos, isto é, nós é que orientaríamos a divisão dos trabalhos, e estaríamos a controlar os prazos de entregas.
Todo correria bem, se passariam das palavras aos actos. Isto é, se cada pessoa cumprisse a sua parte. Sim, mais uma vez, as coisas correram mal. E, correu mal, por coisas estúpidas. Primeiro, não cumprem prazos. Mas porque raio não cumprem prazos, porra? Porque motivo? Depois, a parte dos meus colegas, era um trabalho muito amador... estávamos no 2.º Ano de faculdade e, já era suposto, fazermos coisas "boazinhas", e não uma investigação "pela rama" (claro que me passei...). E, agora, vem o que acho mais parvo. Ora, eu e a minha colega, éramos os responsáveis por juntar todas as partes de todos os trabalhos, etc e... imaginem, receber "Words" cheios, mas cheios, mas cheios, de erros ortográficos? SIM - erros ortográficos! Para além dos erros, havia tipo "5 linhas" sem uma única vírgula!! Eu passei-me. Passei-me mesmo! Como é possível, pessoas que fizeram o 12.º Ano, estão na Faculdade Pública, escreverem com tantos erros ortográficos? E a pontuação? Vergonhoso!
Com a minha colega, perdemos dezenas de horas, apenas a corrigir erros. Um desperdício de tempo da nossa parte, tudo isto porque as nossas colegas (eu era o único rapaz), recusaram-se corrigir, pois diziam que não havia qualquer erro, ou que era do "corrector automático que está avariado". Pior! Pior é ver uma delas, que dizia sempre que não podia reunir-se, publicar no Instagram a ver o Pôr-do-Sol. Caralho para elas todas! Vão morrer longe! Eu e a minha colega estávamos fodidos e decidimos, que no próximo Semestre, não trabalharíamos com elas. Iríamos, novamente, arranjar um grupo novo.
Pensamos muito e, ainda antes do Semestre acabar, falámos com um casalzinho, que participou nesta cadeira, e perguntámos se queriam fazer grupo connosco no próximo ano - ao que eles disseram que sim. Reforçámos que seríamos apenas os 4, e que, de forma alguma, entraria mais alguém (sim, porque a umas semanas de entregar um trabalho, houve uma tipa que entrou no grupo, porque as restantes elementos tinham muita pena dela....). É melhor sermos como as "Tartarugas Ninja", e menos como os "Vingadores" - sobra mais trabalho para cada um mas, ao menos, é malta séria.
Em relação às notas... passei a tudo! =D Tive, inclusive, o meu primeiro 18!! Sim, 18!! OMFG, sinto-me tão incrivelmente e, superiormente, inteligente! Ahahahah! Em relação às amizades com os meus coleguinhas: quanto menos contacto, melhor. Sorrio, finjo-me de distraído, e tudo corre pelo melhor.
Porque temos de ter um Reino Interior se não... estamos fodidos. Com calma, chegamos lá! =)
Entrevistei, pessoalmente, o escocês John McPhail, realizador de "Anna and the Apocalypse" - uma longa-metragem de Terror com temática lésbica! A entrevista aconteceu aquando da 12.ª edição do MOTELX - Festival Internacional de Cinema de Terror de Lisboa, que se realizou no Cinema São Jorge.
Visto que a língua de conversação foi o inglês, resolvi não traduzir o que foi dito (quem não está à vontade com o inglês, basta ir ao canto superior direito do blog, ao "Translate", e seleccionar a língua mais conveniente). A entrevista, foi gravada por meio digital, e foi totalmente transcrita assegurando assim, a naturalidade de uma conversa que durou mais de 60 minutos onde, claro está, foi uma enorme honra para mim puder fazer todas as perguntas que tinha planeado... e ter respostas incríveis!
O realizador e argumentista escocês John McPhail
Lisboa, 8 de Setembro de 2018, no Cinema São Jorge.
Adolescente Gay: For the people that don’t know you, how would you present yourself? John McPhail: I’m usually very “a play it down”. I don’t like or want to be a “Hey baby, I’m a director”. I like to be funny. I like to get to know people. I’m not always working.
Usually, when I tell people that I’m a director, they say “Of what? “and I say “Traffic!“. AG: How was your childhood? JM: I had a great childhood. I have two loving parents who are both very close. They are very tight. There are four of us: my mother, my father, my brother and me. We are very close. My mother is a big film fan. She loves film. I don’t have anyone in the family who’s in the arts. My mother was a social worker and my father was a painter and a decorator. My mother, for as long as I remember, has been giving me horror movies. When I was nine and was off school she taped two movies, on VHS, for me. She really wanted me to see the second movie. The movie was the Wicker Man. So, she came home from work and she said to me: How was the movie?... I replied “They’ve killed him, they’ve bumped him in the end. The bad guys won”.
My mother would put her head around the door and she would say The Uneven Dead is on channel four. It was a really good childhood.
AG: How did you feel watching horror films at nine years old? JM: I loved them. I’ve always loved horror movies. They scared me and that’s the point of them and as I got older I laughed and laughed and laughed.
AG: So horror films are a thing in the family? JM: My mother… My brother likes them and my father watches football.
AG: So it’s a thing a special relationship between you and your mother. JM: She loves horror. She loves all genres but particularly horror. When I was first born, she would be tidying the house and she would put me in a chair and she would put on “An American Werewolf in London.” And I would sit. AG: When you were a child did you know that you were going to be a film director or did you have other ideas? JM: First when I was younger I wanted to be an actor and do Drama and Workshops. In my last years of school, I thought about what I wanted to do and I loved cameras, lighting and framing so I wanted to be a cameraman or a director of photography. I only started directing six years ago because I was working in the camera department. I was a camera assistant and that’s not very creative. I was feeling that I wanted to create so I made my first short film and it was very good. It seems to work and I just fell in love with making movies and working with actors and the different departments. I sort of grew into it. AG: Did you made movies already in your teen years? JM: We didn’t have a lot of money so we didn’t have a camera.
My father had a VHS camera from the nineties and I used this to get into college. I made stop-motion animations with my action figures as my entry project.
AG: So you studied at the Royal Conservatory of Scotland. What was your major back in college? JM: It was cinematography. I was working towards being a director of photography. AG: You never wanted to do anything else? JM: I just love film.
AG: What made you change your idea from wanting to be an actor to being behind the camera? JM: I was just fascinated with the equipment, with lenses, with framing, with lights. I was leaving school and I didn’t think that I was going to be an actor. I knew inside me that I wasn’t the best actor but I was a young boy and the only way to get into film, into anything was in Theatre ( loud plays ). It was never big. I never got big roles. It was always medium roles because I was funny. By going and doing loud plays it made me more confident. A confident person. I could talk to people. I was never shy and it helped me as a person, to be able just to talk and be me.
AG: How long was your degree? JM: I had two years in college and then two years at University.
AG: What do you feel about the years spent in college? JM: I look back and now I can say that I could have done better but at the time I was 17 to 21 and I was still growing up. I was a big child, I was immature. At the time I was having fun, growing up. It’s the point of college and university. It’s about finding you, finding your personality and meeting people. Going out and just growing up. You can always look back in insight and say “ Oh I could have done better”, but at the time I was doing my best.
AG: So your years spent there were pretty good? JM: Yeah, very good.
AG: While you were in college and since college is costly… JM: It’s free in Scotland. Education is free and so is health care.
AG: What is like to be living in Scotland? JM: I grew up just outside of Glasgow. It’s rough growing up. I love Scotland. I love my home… I love my country… I love the people. We’re so friendly and very inviting.
A funny fact: one year we were voted as UK’s most dangerous setting and Europe’s most friendlier setting so, we will assault you but we’ll give you directions to the hospital afterwards.
AG: I can tell that you like Scotland a lot and I like a lot to eat? What would you recommend me to eat while visiting your country? JM: Haggis, neeps and tatties.
AG: So now we come to the present day. Why “Anna and the Apocalypse”? JM: I was given a script. Two producers saw my feature film in the Glasgow festival and they’ve been looking at horror directors and musical directors. They hadn’t found the right fit. They approached me with the script. I read the script and I just fell in love with the characters. It was always about the characters and I love the story. I love the humour. I remember telling it to my friends while I was reading it and saying “ I feel like I could have written this. This is my humour. These are my kind of characters.” This has got so much heart to it that I just fell in love with it.
Previously, it was always Comedy. I had never done Horror or Musicals. I’ve never done action sequences and this excited me.
AG: Since you already won a lot of prizes with your work did you feel more responsible or pressure in directing another writers’ script? JM: Well first I was given a script. My co-writer Andy McDonald had taken over completely full time of the writing and I was just like a director for hire.
I get a script and I talk about what I see … see where it’s going to go and what I’d do and the producers liked that and wanted that.
Of course, there’s always pressure on anything but it’s never going to consume me.
I’m too excited.
AG: When you received the script was it already a Comedy/ Musical/ Horror film? JM: Yes, they were all there. There were six songs. I think three of them stayed the same, the rest all changed. That’s just the progression and, of course, when I come on board I got what I’m looking for. But I’ve two amazing composers … the script was very funny. I sort of wanted to put my stamp all over that even though it’s not my script. I’m telling this story. So, I’m working with my composers and the writer all the time to just get it where it is.
AG: What was the project, made before “Anna and the Apocalypse”, that was the most important to you… the one that you are most proud of? JM: I’m proud of all of them because they’re a progression. It’s like going to work every day, you learn something new.
When you’re a young filmmaker you always have to be ready to learn. So, with each different project, I learned something new. I learned more about me as a storyteller. Even now and in 10, 20, 30 years I will still be learning. I’ll still be discovering things. I would just become more confident and understand my weaknesses and strengths more and it’s just a case of making sure that I can balance them.
AG: What was the main difficulty in shooting “Anna and the Apocalypse”? JM: We shot it in 28 days so, it was over five weeks. The things that are always up against you is time and money. When I was shooting, I average 3 to 4 hours sleep at night because I was up prepping and, again I’ve never done Musicals or Horror and I’ve never done Action, so I wanted to make sure that every day I was prepared and knew exactly what was going on in each day with each character, each scene, shots. I just wanted to make sure everything was prepared. Every day I had something difficult but, you know, this is my dream job so I’m not going to complain about it.
AG: What‘s the scene that you are most proud of? JM: There are a few: the snow angel scene (between John and Anna); the play park because there they’re just being kids (there’s so much heart in it, so much fun) and some of the musical moments, the bowling action sequence , when the kids are fighting zombies and I’m also very proud of the shop and trolley scene between John and Ana.
I love the two of them in the same frame, the two of them together.
AG: What was the main challenge about preparing the technical aspects of shooting the movie? Was it something difficult for you? JM: I love light. I love colour. My director of Photography is just wonderful.
She loves colour that’s why I chose her because she understands it. She likes big frames. I like big frames. She loves colour. I love colour so, it’s just like easy. The camera team that I used to work for were my A Camera team so it was great to have my bosses working for me.
My gaffer (the head of the lighting department) … I used to bother him all the time as a camera trainee. I’d bring him coffee and when we were on location the sparks that the lighting department had generated. They were the only ones that have got mobile power and you always have to have battery charge, so I used to make coffee for them and go “ Hey boys, some coffee, some coffee. Can I charge these?” and they would say “F*** off ”.
So, it was a lot of fun cause I knew a lot of people on that set, particularly in the camera department, in the lighting department and they worked so hard for me.
AG: In what part of the year did you shoot the film? JM: We shot it in February and it was finished in September.
AG: Since the film is a mixture of three genres, at some point, did you try to emphasize one genre over the other two? JM: I brought a lot of the Horror. I believe that the horror comes from the fear for the kids. Our array isn’t the biggest of horror fans. Both the Musical and Comedy were understood but the Horror isn’t their big thing. So, the horror aspect is something that I can say has a lot to do with me. What I always wanted to do was to make sure that the kids’ characters and their story arcs all went straight through. They all had to have arcs. They all had to have their moments otherwise the payoff when you start to lose them, wouldn’t work. You wouldn’t care.
AG: I love the soundtrack. The lyrics are fantastic. My favourite was the one when the girl is on stage singing about Santa Claus. That was hilarious. How was it like to shoot those kinds of scenes and was this song existed from the beginning? JM: That’s Roddy and Tommy, my composers. The main thing for me was that I didn’t want to oversexualize a seventeen-year-old girl. In the original script, it said that she was doing moves that would make Miley Cyrus blush and I didn’t want that at all. It said that she was touching the boys and grinding up to them and I said “No“.
The moment I do that, I sexualize a seventeen-year-old girl and I’m not doing that. It has to be cheeky. So, they’re dancers. They dance behind her and support her but the lyrics to that song were all Roddy, Tommy and Alan. AG: There are references in the movie to famous pop singers. Some of them are made fun at. Is that sort of a personal view on the matter? JM: No, we just think that Just Bieber is a douche bag and … Who doesn’t love Beyoncé? There are so many things there that are just little touches of the script. Remember this: they are kids. Kids make fun. They make jokes and they talk about celebrities.
When the kids are talking about them that’s what kids do. We all talked about celebrities that we liked, that we disliked. You know. Who’s going to funny to be eaten by a Zombie? That’s what kids do. When you have these kids doing that it’s funny but it all just reminds you that they’re just kids at the end of the day.
AG: Yesterday, I saw the film and I felt like one of the messages was the empowerment to all the characters. Was that something that you wanted to portray? JM: Yes, of course, the sense of empowerment. So, with Ana, she’s just a young girl who wants to go and see the world. A lot of people always have to have a girl that has to have a love interest. She has to fall in love with someone and run away with them. We never wanted that. She’s supposed to be a 21 st century girl that has her own mind and wants to do her own things, wants to explore and see the world. They all have their own quirks.
Even the bully, we think he’s a douche bag that he’s not nice and then you realized that his dad was just horrible. He’s a product of his own environment.
It’s always about trying to make sure that we remember they’re kids. I always believe that if we have them that way, we feel for them. We understand what they want in life because we all wanted things when we were younger. We all wanted that dream job, that dream girl. By having dreams and ambitions it makes them real so that when we get to the third act and the characters are dying, there’s peril … real peril … because you know them, you like them. You know where they want to go… You know their dreams and ambitions and then all of a sudden they’re gone.
We have a gay character in the film, Steph. We don’t make any gay jokes. We don’t make any reference to that because that’s part of the world and its part of life. Something else we wanted to do was to make sure that we were being gentle on that. It’s just the world we live now so we never wanted to make anything of it. It’s just who she is. Nobody talks about her because it’s normal.
AG: Do you think that the empowerment aspect in the movie could also be addressed, trough this character, to the LGBT community or do you think that that’s a non-issue today? JM: There are people out there that are homophobic or have problems and issues with this … We don’t. For me this is normal. I don’t mind who you love or who you want to be with. I don’t care what your sexuality wants to be. None of us does. None in my team do. We just believe that we have to accept people for what they are. We live in the 21 st century.
If you want to be a man, then go and be a man or if you want to be with a woman… it’s not up to me.
The character Steph is gay but why make a point of that?
AG: The choreographies are very well made. How was it like to film those scenes? JM: They were fun. “Steph”, Sara Swire, is the actress and the choreographer.
She’s just wonderful.
We shot Hollywood ending on day 2, the scene in the canteen, and it was very fun to shoot. We shot it in two days but the sequence end we shot it in one day. All my backgrounds were all dancers. The kids in the Cafeteria were dancers and we had to pick things up and move things so, people could dance on tables. We incorporated that into the dance routine so, they took ownership of things and in consequence, it was very easy to reset. They knew that they would pick that up… that that’s theirs and they’d know where they’d put it.
My camera crew was very good. We knew what angles we wanted, what angles to take, what shoots we wanted to do and things like that. So, we were very well prepped.
AG: Do you still own Worrying Drake Productions? JM: Yes. My company rents me out.
AG: Why did you create it? JM: I needed a company when I was making my short films. I gave up the production company. I was making the films and I wanted people to understand that there is a brand. Worrying Drake Productions is that brand that we wanted to make. It’s that Comedy with heart.
AG: Do you feel that yours is a successful company? JM: Well this film is doing very well, particularly with the audiences.
We wake up every day and something crazy has happened: Empire Magazine was nominating us for an award; being also selected to another festival.
It’s just crazy every day. For me that’s success.
AG: Do you feel happy about how things are going for you? JM: Yes. 100 %.
AG: You’re a young director with several awards won. Do you feel more pressure because of that, since more potential criticism could come along? JM: I make films for audiences. It’s not for me or my mother. Besides that, we’re a team. We take success and criticism together.
AG: Is it true that this particular movie is going to the USA commercial circuit? How do you feel about it? JM: I feel amazing. It’s MGM, a lion logo in the front of my movie. I grew up watching Terminator; Robocop; Silence of the Lambs; Bill and Ted. That lion logo is part of my upbringing, my childhood. I’m excited for it to go out into the world. We made this film for audiences to enjoy. There’s nothing else. I never made it for me. It costs so much money to go to the cinema. Going out to the cinema is a big deal. When we grow up we didn’t have much money so going out to the cinema, back then, was a real treat, a special occasion. So, when people go out to the cinema I want them to enjoy themselves. For an hour and a half in the world, you’re distracted. You forget about your mortgage, you don’t have to worry about problems at work, problems at home. For an hour and a half in your life, please enjoy yourself.
AG: Do you feel that this could open a lot of doors for you? JM: It already has. Now I have two agents (one in Europe and one in L.A.). I get scripts sent to me from Lionsgate, from MGM. This is the dream coming true. This film as open up so many doors, not just for me, but also for all my producers, for my writer, for my composers, my actors. This film has done so much for all of us. It was something that we cared about, that we loved. We put so much care and love into it. It feels like that karma is coming back to us.
AG: So, what’s next in life for you? JM: I don’t know. I used to work for the football as a video technician and filming games and the manager of the team used to say to the boys: “You’re only as good as your last game.” I’m only as good as my last film. My next film has to surpass “Ana and the Apocalypse”. It has to be bigger. It has to be better. So I will take my time and once I find the right script. I’ll make that.
AG: And will your next project be in line with Horror? JM: Not especially. It could be a Romantic Comedy that comes along and that’s funny and has a heart and character to it or a Horror that has character and heart to it. I’m in for that.
AG: How does Scotland see Portugal? JM: We see Benfica, Sporting, Lisbon, and the Portuguese chicken [o Galo de Barcelos].
AG: How do you view Brexit and the fact that Scotland would like to leave the UK? JM: This is hard because it is politics. I voted to stay in Europe. I’m Scottish and I’m European. I don’t want to leave. It’s not my decision. I hope that people will change their mind or something.
AG: What’s your opinion about the refugee situation in Europe? JM: I’m a believer in a free movement for all the people in the world. It doesn’t matter where you’re from. Do you genuinely think that people want to flee their homes? Do you think that people want to leave their work and the home where they grew up in, the house that they’ve built, and go somewhere else, a place they don’t know, with a different language and without amenities? A place where they’re looked down upon( and the fear and the loss)? Nobody wants that. Any refugee crisis is not to be taken lightly. It’s a horrible thing.
AG: So basically you’re against walls... JM: Yes, I’m against walls and borders.
AG: Would you consider making an LGBT+ film in the future? JM: Of course. Has I said before, it all has to do with the characters.
The more common this becomes, the more this becomes part of life. Then we write about what we know. When these things become more common, they’ll be more written about. There’ll be more stories because that’s part of the world.
Like when you don’t understand it, you can’t write about it and the more educated we become, the more will these stories come out.
AG: Considering that my blog “Adolescente Gay” is addressed to the gay community, what message would you like to give to Portuguese readers? JM: Be who you want to be. Do what you want to do. You get one chance in life. Love your life the best you can and dream big!
Caso queiram falar comigo, também estou sempre disponível.
E-mail - adolescentegay92@gmail.com
Trailer de "Anna and the Apocalypse", de John McPhail, 2017.
