by Sibel Satiroglu
WW Interactive Marketing
Last night was the screening of Laços by Adriana Falcão, the beautifully poetic and melodic six-minute short film from Brazil with “something to say”. It is the winner of the first-ever international film contest called Project:Direct on YouTube, sponsored by HP. Under the umbrella of IPG’s What Do You Have to Say campaign, the requirements for film submission included a passing of a photo and the tag line, “What Do You Have to Say?”
At the screening, we had a chance to talk with Adriana Falcão about the making of the film - its title, its music, her interpretations of its conclusion, its colors ...
"Lacos," literally translated as "ties" from Portuguese, also has the connotation of "relationships".
Its beginning is as open and free to interpretation as its end.
Already a celebrated screenwriter and author in Brazil, Adriana was prompted to submit a film for the YouTube-HP film contest by her daughter Clarice who stars in the film. According to Adriana, the idea was to simply participate, and it was an extraordinary surprise to be chosen as the final winner by the YouTube community voters.
The winning announcement stirred amazing buzz and dominated front-page news in Brazil. Whilst Clarice could not join us in Sundance, she has been very busy focusing on her artistic career. She will appear on the cover of Vogue-Brazil next month, and has received acting offers from Brazilian soap operas!
The lovely melody, composed in a matter of just thirty minutes and performed by Clarice herself, was what initially enticed my interest. The film unfolds with a tearful Clarice running through the streets of Rio de Janeiro, against the backdrop of the comforting colors of subtle, sun-drenched walls and houses, of pastel hues of yellows, pinks, greens. With red carnations in her hand, she is escaping from something, something we know not. The carnation travels with us through the film – it is thrown, dropped, picked up, embraced, placed in a photo. The subtlety of the background music echoes the sentiments of the crying girl … escaping from something that is inescapable ….
I could go to Australia
I could fly to Japan
Could go to South America
Well, everybody can
Could run like hell to China
The end of the film offers a surprise. When asked about the interpretation of the end, Adriana says, "I prefer no closure.” She prefers to leave matters open to interpretation, and touch upon the mysterious and mystical and often unexplained elements of life. Indeed, the power of films is when it sparks such inspiring conversation and dialogue amongst the viewers.
As a result of winning the contest, we asked Adriana about her greatest learning as an artist. “The contest showed me a new media, a new way of communicating on YouTube,” she said. Indeed, such is the power of web 2.0 - to enable expression, creativity, participation and sharing easily and readily! For everybody has something to say! Sometimes experimental, other times powerful, joyful or thought-provoking, subtle or direct, poetic or prose …. |
Printable version
