João Marco is a film teacher. At some point, thinking that “I had already done some things” in the area, I wanted to do something different: “tell a story with a beginning, middle and end”. From there, he decides to make a film – more precisely a feature film. At where? In the Algarve – more precisely, in Faro. Unusual? Well… it's done. With no money involved – but with a budget, through personal investment and various logistical support – the film “Além de Ti”, co-produced by Te-Atrito preview this saturday, in the auditorium of the Municipal Library of Faro.
Getting started is what is difficult – that was what João Marco feared. Therefore, it started “by the artistic team”. Although at the outset he didn't know any of the actors personally, he managed to put together a team of ten actors – including Joana Costa, Sofia Reis and Mário Spencer, a professional actor with extensive experience in theatre, namely in ACTA, A Companhia de Teatro do Algarve.
And the most difficult part thus became easy – even considering that no one was going to be paid: the motivation and the challenge of making movies spoke louder. João Marco tells, for example, that “after theater and television, Mário Spencer always wanted to make movies”.
From the mobilization of a huge team came “Beyond Ti”, which the director describes as “a film about the differences in worldviews”. “It's not a film to participate in festivals, the films that win festivals all have a very similar appearance”, explains João Marco to Sul Informação.
“I use some mechanisms, that of traffic, of the metropolis [ndr: although the film is almost entirely shot in Faro- not to make money, but to have an audience. Afterwards, and because of the path that the film followed in terms of script, it falls under an authorial point of view, which is also the one I believe in”, explains the director who shot the film with his team in 25 days last summer.
After the premiere, João Marco reveals that the film is already registered (and pre-registered) for several festivals, including the highly regarded Indielisboa (independent film festival) and hopes to tour and several screenings – if possible through the Film Clubs - all over the country.
“The goal is for the film [ndr: 92 minutes] to be seen. Before, I was a little apprehensive about the result and what people would think. Not now. I'm satisfied and I want people to see, the more the better. Afterwards, whether they like it or not, it interests me less. The truth is, it's done. And the objective is to improve”, says the director.
Now that the baby is out there, and because he thinks that “in the Algarve there is no desire to create” and “that you have to do it, so that you don't think it's easy to do things and criticize without having done anything”, João Marco already have a plan: do more. And more. And so he's already working on the next project. News coming soon (in a movie theater near you).
(Follow the official Facebook of the movie on here)
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