Page 58 - Metropolis Megazine nº118

in the preparation stage. And that part years earlier, when he was teaching ac- actor had two scenes, period. I thought
was delightful. Casting, choosing actors... ting at ACT—the School of Actors. “I was it was highly communist: everyone is a
it's something I've loved doing for many invited to supervise the third-year film. I protagonist and a supporting actor at the
years,” says the director. quickly realised that the students were same time.”
concerned about who would play the
Despite the logistical complexity of lead role.” It was from this realization that The method resulted in an intense but
working with so many interpreters, he he decided to subvert the traditional lo- stimulating shooting schedule. “Despite
says the process was marked by enthu- gic of protagonism, creating a story whe- being my most complex film, it was also
siasm and lightheartedness. “It was a lot re “everyone can be a main or secondary the most peaceful. Each story was filmed
of fun to bring these people together. I character, depending on what they do in two days. Even the technical team was
only had two major concerns: finding the with what they are given.” enthusiastic because every day it felt like
male actors who could sing—because we were making a new film. There was a
I knew very few—and making sure that The result was an educational exercise constant change of sets and cast.”
each story fit into the right time slot,” he that ended up bringing one of the cour-
shares. se projects – “O Amor é Lindo” [it means In the end, Vicente Alves do Ó is proud of
"Love is Beautiful"] – to the stage, which how the team embraced the spirit of the
The film was constructed using a chain has now inspired the format of “Portu- project: “This film was born out of an al-
narrative structure, where each character gueses". “I created a chain structure: A most pedagogical attitude: to show that
is linked to the next. This idea was born meets B, B meets C, C meets D... Each an actor is just as talented in a leading

58 METROPOLIS MAY 2025