How the history of Vivencial Diversiones, anarcho/theatrical group influenced the creation of the Star spangled floor?
The Vivencial Diversiones was a small and
peripheral playhouse between the cities of
Recife and Olinda, that had its peak in the
mid-70s. It is a reference to my point of view
of the world from the periphery of the facts
. And then there were all the elements that
interested me: a bit of anarchy, leadership
conflicts, struggle for freedom. And mainly
a very passionate reflection about art
and behavior. A very narrow conversation
between possible luxury and palpable
poverty. And eveything wasn’t that much
developed, with a very brave ingenuity.
My relationship with the Vivencial wasn’t
direct. And it was more emotional than
practical. I used to know - and stil do -
several people who made part of that
universe. When the time to join it arrived
to me, the world had spun once more - in
the early 80s. The myths, the legends, the
history remained. And above all, the feeling
that from peripheral attitudes we can reach
the nucleus of the events and influence the
world around us.
João Silverio Trevisan was a very important
character in this process. He had, from his
"Devassos no Paraíso", called attention to
the possibilities of interpretations of that
space – at the release of the first edition
of the book in 1983, I believe . After many
years, we ended up being neighbors in the
city of São Paulo. During a conversation in
my house, he asked me: why not to make
a movie about the Vivencial? I was already
working on another script from another
perspective. At that moment I began to
mature the environment of the story that
I was working on and its relationships with
subjects that interest me and could bring
new looks.
The Star Spangled Floor, space recreated
for Tattoo, is the freedom to reinvent
that moment; not reporting strictly to the
past or inspiring itself directly into their
characters. We were interested - and that
was what we have done - in borrowing the
spirit, the atmosphere, of a time and throw
it to another time. Recreating a movement
behind the memories. In some way, to model
a moment for thinking about the present
and its possibilities.
At Star Spangled Floor’s core we have
the impression that the scenes are
happening and the camera is just
stealing those moments. How was the
process of building the theater’s scenes?
We did a very intense and long preparation
(six weeks) with Amanda Gabriel in charge
of it. It was part of that context to locate the
characters in the cast that we have selected.
This same cast had the task of assembling
the dramas described in the script.
The texts were divided between the
spectacle they were presenting and the
preparation of a new show. The first one
with sketches and the second one with
more theatrical intentions. And since that
time we were working with a very clear
concept for the camera to understand the
scenarios movements and to adapt them to
the Star Spangled Floor space.
One thing that had to become clear for
the cast was that we had two levels of
interpretation that we wanted to reach:
the excess of theatrical productions and an
interpretation more colloquial. Between
those interpretation, the invasion of one
by another. In other words: a fusion that
escapes from the everyday stage, as well as
its inverse.
The cinematography has a well-defined
concept. Just like the art design. They
play a narrative role, but seem to favor
the transmission of a mood, sensory
experiences. How did you come to the
aesthetic concepts we see in the film?
At Tattoo, and it comes from its gestation,
the quest is to reveal an environment, but
that environment was not stigmatized in its
time. We did not want to be enslaved to a
time. The general concept was the need to
show things breathing attitude, revealing
an intention. And to give us a notion quite
tactile from that universe.
Renata Pinheiro (production designer) and
Ivo Lopes Araújo (cinematographer) were
far beyond the original intent. With Renata
I already have a working complicity because
we worked together in five films. I believe
that when you create an environment,
things happen there. The Tattoo
environment is one of the main characters.
This was my first work with Ivo, but one
of the best matches in terms of look. He’s
accurated without being retrograde. His
look has freedom and sophistication at the
same time.
"Tattoo" tells a love story between two
men. The movie does not seem to intend
to raise flags. If it does, it’s because of
the truth which it looks the desire and
its expression. At some point, during the
creative process, you took into account
the potential social work of the film in
breaking down stigma and prejudice?
From my point of view, a love story between
two men has nothing scandalous or
abnormal. In the case of Tattoo, the
fact brings an essential element for the
development of the narrative, and is quite
informative about the time. It scores as
a contemporary reflection on stigmas
and prejudices that emerge over and
over again, as old ghosts. And within this
perspective, the loving relationship is a
trigger for debate, yes. For the prejudice,
the film can only be provocative. But the
greatest provocation of our discourse is the
construction of freedom.
What was the biggest challenge in directing the first fiction feature-film?
The biggest challenge in Tattoo, after
having written several screenplays, directed
many short films and documentaries for TV,
was the possibility to pursue aesthetic ideas
and narratives for a project which I am, at
the same time, responsible and accomplice.
Having the chance to deal with creative
solutions that would realize my anxieties.
The challenge of establishing a specific
look and rehearse a mode of production
that breathed that idea.
How much of yourself is present in the film?
I make jokes about that. I say I spent 48
years writing Tattoo. I was 13 in 1978 -
the year the film is set - just Tuca’s age, son
of Clécio. Time that I began to live more
actively, with a little more awareness. And
I saw a lot of those peripherals art groups
throughout my adolescence. I do not see
myself in one character only, but in the logic
of an artistic look that refines what is going
on in the periphery. And it goes through
various characters: a desire to create not
only because we believe in art, but because
we need it. And we do it in a big way. So we
no longer need to handle an absolute truth,
but a look, a narrative.