"There's something I need to tell you," tells the story of someone who is abandoned in a loving relationship. He or she will go through difficult moments and incredible suffering, but it is up to them to find that strength that will allow them to move on without looking back. Three different shades of love that tell us the best message of all, love. A short film written by Rui Sousa, in 15 minutes, which took a year to be produced, knows why.
The question I put is the most obvious of all, how you got the idea for this short film?
Rui Sousa: I was at a dinner with friends that it was being very entertaining and at one point I had an idea about relationships, about love, about the broken heart and what people should do to overcome this dark period of their lives. From that moment on, I began writing the story that I shared with my colleagues and it would be quite interesting, not so much for the market festivals, more like a viral short. However, in post production and even during the commercial promotion of the film we decided to start the film festivals.
The short film deals with three different love stories, when you had the idea for this short film that was the premise since the beginning?
RS: Yes, now, the film has some messages, not just one. It seeks to show that love is transversal in any type of relationship whether heterosexual, or homosexual. Initially I thought about what you I should do when ending a relationship that was important to you and the path you should follow. The learning is of characters at the same time shows that love is universal for any human being.
One of the issues that arose related to this short film is that in the beginning you obtained some promises of financial support, however, when people find out that the film also focuses on a homosexual relationship, people retreated. It's still a taboo subject in our society?
RS: Clearly, unfortunately still is. There were many people interested in helping out, but as soon as receiving the script the speech was different, they said it was not so easy to help, it was difficult. The story was always the same. We get a sense of injustice, because we notice that only after they receipt the story we were without any kind of support, to the point that we had nothing. Then all the team and actors, we decided to continue the project with money from our own pockets, each gave what they could to get the film show off Portugal.
All involved are people with little or limited experience, whether actors or the technical staff, even you the director?
RS: We're all professionals, much of the technical team works on a production company of Porto, who were not involved in this movie. To everyone as a whole is our first work. Regarding the actors, Joana Antunes, is a know theater actress, the rest cast finished their courses in the art school of Porto.
So ended the short, you are now promoting it in various festivals.
RS: Yes, in Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and we are still at the stage of applications.
Do you think it will be a controversial film by tackling the issue of homosexual?
RS: I believe that unfortunately may cause some controversy, given the ideology that some people advocate. Not saying it's the entire population, especially among the more conservative public, but also the owners of the festivals that are not going to accept it. I believe that this is short film beyond its borders, in the countries I mentioned it has more followers than actually Portuguese, as can be seen on the facebook page. The aim of this film is to touch people, because nowadays, which is the person who has not suffered for love once in their life?
How long did it take to write the script?
RS: It took me fifteen minutes to write it. But after it was improved slightly. It was instant, was something that came out at that time, at that dinner. But it took a year to be produced, because without support is difficult, requires people to give their best, they use their time and their gas, because everyone has their jobs and had to shoot it depending on the availability of each of them in the end-of-week. So it crawled, when we cannot pay people to film all day.
Why the English title?
RS: The story has a narrator who speaks directly to the viewer, as it puts itself in the skin of the characters. When I sat down at the table I wrote the whole argument in English and do not ask me why. It was like that when I got the idea, and thankfully, because overseas will touch more people, unfortunately, rather than here.
