Once the Black Lives Matter protests broke out in the U.S., Brazilian filmmaker Sabrina Fidalgo and Swiss photographer Yvan Rodic realized it was time to begin working on their passion project, “O Projeto.” The documentary, developed and shot over the six years since, began its festival journey earlier this year at Brazil’s renowned Gramado Film Festival and now arrives to wider audiences at the Mostra de São Paulo.
“O Projeto” (“The Project,” in literal translation) is a documentary road movie across several countries, including Brazil, Germany and Switzerland, stitching archival material, first-person interviews with renowned names such as Grada Kilomba and Djamila Ribeiro and poetic interludes to reflect upon the visible and invisible scars of over six centuries of colonialism. The film was born from the encounter between Fidalgo and Rodic, who each bring their particular subjectivities—as well as their shared criticisms and musings—to this study of how Europe’s colonial past continues to shape our present both in the North and Southern spheres.
The film, which was the first-ever Brazilian project to be supported by the Le Fonds de Dotation agnès b, a philanthropic fund created by famed fashion designer Agnès Troublé, was first conceived by the duo during the early days of the pandemic. Speaking with Variety ahead of their first screening in São Paulo, the filmmakers recall the many hoops they had to jump through in those first years of development.
“It was tricky because we first began working on the project during the pandemic, and still under the Bolsonaro government, at a time when all resources were frozen; we no longer had a Ministry of Culture and our national film fund was practically nonexistent,” says Fidalgo. “This being a road trip movie made it even harder as we couldn’t travel freely at the time, so we spent those early years heavily in development, having lengthy conversations between the two of us but also with [our producers at] Gullane and other creatives.”
As for how they decided on such a wide umbrella for a film and whether the scope of the subject ever felt daunting, Rodic says “of course,” but reiterates the “magic” of working on the project was realizing how he and Fidalgo had different perspectives on the subject but also “a strong connection.” “We shared cultural references, and we loved talking about the subject, too. It was tricky at times, but those very complications led to a very singular film.”
Fidalgo echoes that thought: “This is the very genesis of the film: how can two people who are in theory so different think the consequences of the colonial project from within their specific perspectives?”
“Yvan is a white Swiss man from the global north, I’m a Black Brazilian woman from the global south, but there are many things that unite us,” she adds. “There are also several surprising moments in the film where we upend these expectations someone might have of us.”
The film has picked up several high-profile supporters in its trajectory, including “Brainstorm” director Laís Bodanzky and Oscar-winning “I’m Still Here” helmer Walter Salles. The former is an associate producer on “O Projeto,” while the latter is an “ongoing supporter,” according to the filmmakers.
“Rarely have I seen the issues of colonialism and whiteness addressed with such relevance,” said Salles in a statement about the film. “It is a polyphonic, proactive, and, at the same time, incisive film. It is very well directed and edited.”
As for Bodanzky, Fidalgo recalls a long mutual admiration between herself and the director. “She saw some of my early work, when I was travelling with my first short film 10 years ago, and it was a moment of a lot of togetherness between female directors,” she recalls. “Laís already had a relationship with Gullane, which produced ‘Brainstorm’ and several other films she was a part of, so when she heard about ‘O Projeto’ and my next feature film with Gullane, we began talking, and she came in as a consultant.”
The next project in question is “Carnaval,” which will close a trilogy Fidalgo started with “Queen” in 2016 and continued with 2019’s “Lavender.” “Carnaval,” which is currently in development, will mark the director’s first fiction feature film and tell the story of women ahead of a carnival parade in the late ’90s.
But for now, Fidalgo is focused on sharing “O Projeto” with audiences alongside Rodic. Screening the film this week in São Paulo is a poignant, bittersweet moment for the duo, which sees their film gain an even greater sense of urgency as Brazil gears up for a tense second round of presidential elections between current president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Flávio Bolsonaro, the son of former president Jair Bolsonaro, infamous for glaringly racist quotes about Brazil’s enslaving past and painful colonial history. The polls will open on this Sunday, Oct. 25.
“During the six years we spent making the film, I often worried if we missed our window,” says Fidalgo about the timing. “We felt the world had moved on, but life often surprises us, and now we see ourselves showing the film ahead of such dramatic elections that offer us not two presidential candidates but a choice between good and evil.”
Fidalgo adds that “O Projeto” is not just a film, “it’s a manifesto.” “We are now seeing students take to the streets in Brazil following the first round of elections, and it’s thanks to them that the left has managed to gain some traction. The film is in direct conversation with this movement; it’s a doc that brings images of the Black Lives Matter protests, which I believe to be the genesis of everything we are seeing right now in the world, in countries like France, Spain and the U.S.”
“We feel the film is coming at the right time,” she emphasizes. “We believe it will connect with audiences and that people will leave the screening room with a renewed desire to go to the streets and avoid the catastrophe of another Bolsonaro government.”
“O Projeto” is produced by Gullane, Fidalgo Produções, Globo Filmes and Canal Brasil, in association with Yvan Rodic Media. The film will be available in Brazilian theaters on Nov. 19.