WWith three awards at international festivals, an honorable mention and several official selections, ‘I can look for you’ is made up of a young cast, mostly from Madeira, and is shot entirely in Madeira, mainly in the municipality of Porto Moniz, in the north of the island.
In an interview with the Lusa agency, Francisco Lobo Faria points out that it is “a well-disposed film, which is consumed well, with some lightness”, but that “ends up causing a small shake in people’s consciences”.
“The motif used of children as the basis of the narrative transports the film to that space of lightness, that joviality. However, it is a small trick because these children, although they are young and enthusiastic and live with that youthful lightness, are doing something that is not expected, that from the outset the adult audience will be surprised by the purposes”, he maintains.
The director from Madeira says that human beings, as they mature, create a distance from society, a kind of “cover”, and that “reflection passes through children”, since they are more permeable and “sensitive to others and the reality of others”.
“But they don’t make this reflection in a philosophical way. They leave the seed so that whoever sees the film can reflect on these themes. There are many other themes to be approached in the film, some are more decisive, others are more accessory, but essentially the film reflects on social cohesion, on this question of who we are to each other”, he points out.
The project started even before the covid-19 pandemic and was born with the aim of “giving a stage to the talent” that exists in Madeira and that has few opportunities.
When Francisco Lobo Faria started teaching acting classes, he realized “that the lack of those kids in a reality that was up to par with their talent was a scourge”.
“And it was hypocritical to train and not make the effort to give them a stage at the level of their talent”, he says.
The director points out that the film was made “always with the perspective of being professional, with a professional context, it was not thought of as a ‘little film’ because the kids are small”.
“The idea already existed that the film would reach cinemas and it was being made to reach cinemas”, he reinforces.
Most of the actors and technicians who were part of the production of “I can look for you” are from Madeira, although without ever “closing doors to anyone from abroad”.
“The idea of the project is to promote talent and merit, whatever its origin. Since we are producing in Madeira, we end up having a greater incidence and that makes sense to balance the reality of the artistic market a little. (.. .) It makes sense to give opportunity to those who haven’t had it and Madeirans have had very little”, he considers.
Francisco Lobo Faria confides that he is already working on the next film, daring to say that he has an argument “even better than this one” up his sleeve, although he does not want to reveal more details right away.
The objective is to carry out a production “with the same purpose, with the same objectives”, but with “more resources” than had “I can look after you”.
“I want to open the way for others, not just for myself, because we are mortal. We don’t dominate, we never own anything at all and what I want is for the path I come to take to be opened to facilitate it too the reach of others that come after”, he underlines.
“I want the others who come after to be bigger than me”, he reinforces.
The Madeiran director says he is bothered by the difficulty that Madeirans have in reaching “the contexts of the national market and that his curriculum is little considered and of little relevance”.
“These are things that I hope to change. I hope that the ICA (Institute of Cinema and Audiovisual) supports the creator more, that vehicles of meritocracy are created”, he refers.
The feature film by Francisco Lobo Faria, which hits Portuguese cinemas on March 30, received the award for the best youth cast at the Titan International Film Festival, in Australia, was distinguished with the award for Best International Feature Film at the Golden Lion International Film Festival, in India, and also received the award for best debut film at a festival in Singapore.
Martim Lobo, Laura Silva, Francisca Madeira, Tiago Valente, Iago Fernandes, Matilde Gouveia and Eduardo Sousa are the seven young people who starred in the film, which has imagery by Carlos Melim, sound by Daniel Guiomar, executive production by Vanessa Fernandes and editing by Herman Delgado .
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