director of photography Rui Poças
André Valente
by Catarina Ruivo
Festivals
and Awards
2004
- Locarno, international competition - IInternational Federation of Film
Societies Award
- Gwangju – Critics Award and "Younng Cinema Jury Award"
- Montreal
- Viennale
- Belfort
" I invent happiness on this earth because in it I live "
António Ramos Rosa
It’s almost Christmas! I wish my father was back in time for Christmas, bearing the gifts I asked for. I wish he would stay with us for a long time and not argue with my mother. I wish the other kids at school would stop pestering me at the playground and I hope that Susana will always be my friend. I want her to come with me to the abandoned house. Yesterday I saw light in there again. Also, I need to tell Susana about a mystery I’ve discovered. Everyday at the same time my front neighbour, who speaks a weird language, leaves home wearing a tracksuit. We could follow him and find out where he’s headed…
André Valente
Press (portuguese)
Cast
Actors Leonardo Viveiros, Rita Durão, Pedro Lacerda, Dmitry Bogomolov, Ricardo Aibeo, Camila Bessa, André Caramuncho, Carla Chambel, Lavínia Moreira...
Director Catarina Ruivo
Producer Paulo Branco
Director of Photgraphy Rui Poças
Sound Vasco Pimentel
Editing Catarina Ruivo
Production Clap FilmesLength : 1h 11min. Production Year : 2004
Colour
Sound : Dolby SRD
Aspect Ratio : 1:66
Shot on : 16 mm
Language : Portuguese
"This is the story of André, an eight-year-old boy who will learn, throughout the film, how to keep his balance on the slippery rope that is everyday’s life. I think people tend to idealize their childhoods as a time free from worries and suffering, when in fact it is a time in our lives when we come across formidable obstacles, on a daily basis, and where things that we will later on be able to put in perspective loom frighteningly large. I believe it takes a lot of courage to grow up, and nobody does it right when they are unhappy. Thus, André will find out for himself that even if you’re caught in an arduous everyday life it is possible to invent happiness. That is what I want to put across, because what interests and moves me the most is the way in which, in the midst of their daily grind, haunted by doubts and difficulties, people manage to create oasis of bliss and find pleasure and joy in small things."
CATARINA RUIVO
feature films • short films • documentaries • awards & reviews • contact me
www.ruipocas.com
