The Algarve short film “Trindade” will be screened in a preview, this Friday, the 26th, at 21 pm, at the Portuguese Institute of Sport and Youth (IPDJ), in Faro. The film was shot entirely in the Algarve capital.
«It has a bit of drama, it definitely has comedy, mixed in a fantasy wrapping, because the protagonists are three vampires and the hotel itself is a hotel for supernatural beings», explains Diogo Simão, director of the short film, in an interview with Sul Informação.
The film tells the story of three vampires, sitting by the fireplace of the Hotel Trindade. «One of them knows the other two and they try to discover each other through a play on words, a conversation. The truths they end up admitting change the history of humanity as we know it», adds the director.
The name “Trindade” refers to the three protagonists, but it also has a religious connotation that “involves the entire film and cannot be overlooked in any way”.
Diogo Simão and co-producers Adriano Ferreira and Mariana Ramos first built the characters, which served as inspiration for the film. «From there, we developed very lightly what the characters ended up becoming, we got together, we saw how they could fit together and, from there, I built the script», says Diogo Simão.
Inspiration also came from other films, such as "Only Lovers Survive" by Jim Jarmusch, which "walks a lot on the issue of vampires, not so much as monsters, but as immortal beings who pose interesting questions."
Diogo Simão tried to avoid stereotypes and pictures from the vampire movies: "That's very romantic, very Dracula, but they weren't the questions I wanted to go looking for."
«Layers of films were placed one on top of the other», he continues, giving the example of “The Big Lebowski”, whose comedy element «a little for the stoner» also marks the “Trindade” with a «vibe but cool, calmer, while there are existentialist questions to be asked».
The director confesses that there is also "some DNA of Tarantino", although it was not on purpose. «I recently bought “The Hateful Eight” on DVD and started watching and reviewing that and I thought it was ridiculous how completely “Trindade” is. I had seen the movie only once before making this short one, and now, looking back, I think she has a lot of “The Hateful Eight” DNA.
Like Tarantino's film, “Trindade” takes place all in the same space. In this case, the chosen place was the emblematic Club Farense, which «was completely indispensable» to the short film. “You go inside and you feel that it's a big place, a place with power, a place that, by itself, has an aura. Be it from the columns in the entrance, the fireplace that shelters us, the coat of arms, the sofas… From the beginning, when we started making the spotting, Club Farense proved to be the ideal choice».
But the conditions of the space forced us to «further improve the light and ambience, so that we can create this environment and so that the audience can feel inside the room». To this end, Jorge Mestre Simão, gaffer, says that a chromatic research was carried out, which also included Ricardo Vargues, director of photography, to make the film «darker, warmer, since they are all around a fireplace, and with a theme that deals with vampires, you want something dark».
The soundtrack was composed by João Sousa, a «spectacular musician from the Algarve, who demonstrated very well that he knew how to pick up any instrument and use it in his own way», praises Diogo Simão. During pre-production, «he managed to get a lot of elements, among several conversations we had, and managed to create a spectacular ambience for the film. Most spectacular of all, he is only 18 years old». Diogo Simão would put the “Trindade” soundtrack “side by side with any soundtrack” that he has heard in Portuguese cinema in recent years.
After this presentation at the IPDJ, the official premiere that will happen when the film manages to enter the festival circuit is missing.
For more information, you can consult the movie's Facebook page here.
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