Helvécio Marins Jr. & Clarissa Campolina
Girimunho, Helvécio Marins Jr. & Clarissa Campolina (2011)
Helvécio Marins Jr. is a Brazilian screenwriter, film director and producer; Clarissa Campolina is a Brazilian cinematographer, film director and editor. The feature film debut Girimunho, which they co-directed, premiered at Venice Orizzonti, Toronto, San Sebastián, and Rotterdam; Minneapolis, where it won Best Emerging Filmmaker Award; and Havana, where it won the Special Jury Prize.
In an exclusive interview with Filmatique, Clarissa Campolina discusses the intangible rhythms of life in the backlands, the importance of wasting time, a wish to see strong and diverse women onscreen and her next projects.
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FILMATIQUE: Brazilian cinema (and literature) have historical and organic connections to the backlands, the interior of the country. Nevertheless Girimunho escapes the archetypes present in many of those narratives of poverty and desolation, as São Romão is lively and immersed in a rich and complex culture. How did you discover São Romão, and what motivated you to make a film here?
CLARISSA CAMPOLINA: I live in a big city, the capital of Brazil's Minas Gerais state, and my relationship with the backlands started when I was still a kid. The enchantment with the huge river— and also with the dark nights full of stars, the food, the animals and the stories— began with the summer vacations I spent on a farm. As the years went by, this relationship matured as I dove into literature and cinema, and grew deeper still as work opportunities allowed me to be closer to the landscape, the culture and the people that live in the backlands.
I first encountered São Romão with Helvécio while searching for locations for his short film Nascente. It was a one-month trip through the San Francisco Valley and led us to a project that screens Brazilian films in small towns next to the São Francisco River. The project, called "Cinema no Rio," was created by Inácio Neves and still takes place today.
It was during this time that we first met Bastú, and I believe this encounter made me accept, five years later, Helvécio's invitation to co-direct Girimunho after he showed me the project's first treatment.
During our initial encounter with Bastú we listened silently as she told us her stories for about two hours. Her mechanisms of tying one story to another, the timing of her narrative, her worldview, the mystery she guards and her joy of life were fascinating to me and made me want to spend more time next to her.
FLMTQ: At the risk of sounding cliché, the landscape is so expressive that it resembles a central character in the film itself. How did you seek to integrate this element, and how important do you believe nature and its rhythms to be to those who inhabit it?
CC: The landscape is spectacular and we didn't want to frame it as if it was something exotic. While we were still writing the script, we wanted to connect the landscape with the characters, with their way of living, their feelings. For that to happen, we needed to bring our look closer that of São Romão's inhabitants.
In the first encounter with Bastú, and in all the encounters— with her, Maria and the other characters— that occurred over the course of seven years, the importance of the landscape for the construction of her personality and her feelings was quite clear. As she spoke, we realized that an observation of space coincided with her explanations for the mysteries of nature. People explained the importance of "wasting" time in order to understand the cycles of nature; we saw how the way they faced the world influenced their daily lives, the rhythms of their speech, the hour they go to sleep and the hour they get up. The local images— vast fields, high sun, dark nights, flowing rivers, light reflecting off fish scales— created Bastú's stories and inspired Maria's lyrics.
In other words, aside from our conversations and observations, the extended period of time we spent visiting and even living in the village also helped us to understand that nature and landscape comprise part of these peoples' selves, their habits, their poetry, their imagination, their dreams, their lives. And it has an influence on the way they see the world.
Girimunho, Helvécio Marins Jr. & Clarissa Campolina (2011)
FLMTQ: The villagers are the 'actors' of your film who play versions of their own lives. Even if you keep the camera at a certain distance they seem very comfortable with it— there is an intimate scene between Branca and Preta when they talk about their dreams, love, their future. The scene flows seamlessly, as do many others of this kind. What was the villagers' general reaction to you shooting there and how did this evolve over time?
CC: The research period of Girimunho was long— about eight years— and the choice of shooting with the actual people that inspired the story was fundamental to its conception because the beauty, as well as the challenge, of Girimunho was to build a story alongside the characters, to build a story 'with' them, not 'about' them.
This gesture— filming 'with' them— was decisive for both Girimunho's artistic style and its production. We chose to make a film with a tiny team of twelve people and to live for four months in São Romão. This way we could experience the town, the landscape and the river. We could meet our characters and other people who lived there, during and after shooting hours. Like that, we were able to experience daily encounters and to build connections and relations that would surpass the work of the film.
I believe this way of producing influenced much of the interaction of the characters. It also had an influence on the film's aesthetics. Everyone on set was supposed to gather during the shoot. There was a lot of planning: a previous scene design, a previous 'decoupage.' Most importantly— we had to be aware of everything that was happening during the shoot.
In this context, when we were shooting we aimed for effective camera work and Ivo Lopes Araujo, our cinematographer, was essential to this. Cinematography should be part of the scene— relating to it, respecting the time and rhythm of the environment, understanding the intentions and the movements of our characters.
We were also concerned about what we should show in the images and believed we did not have the obligation to show everything. On the contrary, the camera should turn or step away in a very intimate scene, to shoot the landscape and explore what's happening off-screen. With this in mind we explored the doorways, our characters' backs and the darkness. We could build an atmosphere in which life's mysteries were respected.
FLMTQ: Can you please reflect on your experience of working with the actors, and particularly with the lead, Bastú? How was the casting process and how much direction did you give them?
CC: In Girimunho we aimed to breathe in the atmosphere of the place and the people that inspired us to make the film. It was an intense process of meeting them and being affected by them. Building a fictional film wherein Bastú and Maria could produce a narrative through the interpretation of their own stories was our biggest challenge. Besides all the events that happened to them, it was necessary to create new situations in order to build the fictional elements of the film. The intimacy and the time we spent with them allowed us to 'produce' new events; however, we had to be very aware during the shoot and give up on things we had planned in order to respect the characters' wishes.
The whole process with Bastú was very special. When we first met her, we were immediately caught by the way she told her stories and by her ability to mix reality and fantasy. This inspired us during many stages of the film: from script development and artistic concept to our work with the characters. Her poetic and jolly side were intricate to her daily life, which made the acting process very light and relaxed.
Girimunho, Helvécio Marins Jr. & Clarissa Campolina (2011)