ADRIANA BARBOSA + THIAGO ZANATO
ADRIANA, THIS IS YOUR SECOND TIME WITH US AT AAFF. LAST YEAR YOU AND BRUNO MELLO CASTANHO WERE THE RECIPIENT OF OUR LINKLATER AWARD FOR BEST WRITING FOR YOUR FILM BITE. WELCOME BACK! HI THIAGO, WELCOME!ADRIANA, WE LOVE THAT YOU FOCUS AND INTRODUCE US TO THE INCREDIBLE PEOPLE YOU HAVE MET. HOW DID YOU MEET ARELY? It was actually Thiago who met Arely at first. After a research we were both doing in Mexico about rituals related to death, Thiago was really impressed by the figure of Santa Muerte and the image of the Skeleton Saint stuck on his mind. When he went back to NY, where he lived, he googled about shrines to Santa Muerte in New York and that's when he came across this article about Arely. He sent her a message and they met for a chat. He was really amazed by her story and what she presented to her community. And he told me about her and that we could work together to tell a story through her perspective.
AS CO-DIRECTORS, HOW DID YOU TWO DIVY UP THE RESPONSIBILITIES AND TASKS? We worked really close during the whole process, Thiago was more focused in directing the scene as he had more experience in narrative forms and I was more focused in some production necessities like casting and making sure the community that was being part of the film felt comfortable during the shoot. We had a really small crew so we had to divide the responsibilities in a very effective way. After production was concluded, we had the post-production in Brazil, so I worked very closely with the editor to get to a first cut and Thiago came onboard to define the final cut. It was interesting to divide our participation as Directors as it gave an opportunity to see and discuss diverse solutions to make this story as potent as possible. Me and Thiago have always worked together, one way or another, I believe we are a good team to challenge ourselves and find the best way to tell a story.
"IT WAS REALLY IMPORTANT TO SHARE THE PROCESS ALONGSIDE [ARELY] AND THAT THE FILM DECONSTRUCTED AN IMAGE THAT MAINSTREAM MEDIA HAS DEPICTED OF THIS RELIGIOUS MOVEMENT."
AT WHAT POINT DID YOU INTRODUCE YOURSELF AS A FILMMAKER AND SHARE YOUR IDEA FOR THIS FILM WITH ARELY? WHAT WAS HER REACTION? WHAT DOES SHE THINK OF THE FILM? Thiago began to attend the monthly rosaries that Arely held at her house and started to create a relationship with her and the community that attended the rosaries. During one of these rosaries, she asked him what was his interest and he was really transparent about his wish in portraying Arely's story and what she meant to her community. She accepted and gave permission for him to get closer, so he started to bring his camera to the rosaries and started filming to make her and the community familiar with the presence of a camera. I was living in São Paulo, but was close to the process even from afar, and after talking extensively about what we knew about her, we started writing a script based on what she has shared about her life. When I went to NY, I met her and quickly connected, I guess that by being both Mexicans, it was easy to get close to each other. Me and Thiago showed her the script and we were really glad when she said that the script really represented her life and struggles. It was really important to share the process alongside her and that the film deconstructed an image that mainstream media has depicted of this religious movement. She is proud of the film and she asked us to make a screening of the film to all of her community in one of the yearly anniversaries to Santa Muerte. To have our world premiere of the film in that situation and people from the community cheering after the screening meant that the film had accomplished a big part of its purpose.