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Maria Fernanda Cândido, the veteran Brazilian actor who rose to major international projection last year thanks to a key role in Kleber Mendonça Filho’s Oscar-nominated “The Secret Agent,” is set to star in “Lost Objects,”
by renowned director Luiz Fernando Carvalho.
Production has already started on “Lost Objects” (“Objetos Perdidos”), which is described as “a modern dystopian fable” and also stars theatre veteran André Frateschi, newcomer Marcela Vivan Russo and acclaimed French actor Maurice Durozier. The film is produced by Academia de Filmes, which is part of the INK Studios ecosystem.
The official synopsis for the project evokes a poetic image: “This love story is an urban fable; the streets and tunnels would be empty. At the street corners, traffic lights would turn on and off without any meaning. It’s an empty planet, some would say. In a time yet to be named, when the couple’s love crumbled in the dead of night during a blackout, the planet became populated once more. To each other, had they been nothing more than figments of the imagination? Would they ever see each other again? That man and that woman now wander through fragments of the real world, seeking to piece their lives back together after the overwhelming experience of passion.”
Speaking with Variety, Carvalho describes the film as “chemical fiction,” saying it is a “modern fable about love, this substance that seems to be disappearing from planet Earth.”
“As for the film’s genre, I call it ‘chemical fiction,’ a sort of dialogue with science fiction,” he adds. “After all, love is such a powerful force in our lives that we can hardly say for sure whether that encounter really happened or if it was the result of the magical chemistry that fuels our amorous imagination.”
“Lost Objects” comes three years after Cândido and Carvalho collaborated in “The Passion According to G.H.,” an adaptation of the eponymous novel by Clarice Lispector. The film, which premiered to acclaim in Rotterdam, went on to have a successful festival run. Speaking with Variety, Cândido says the two films will work as a “dyptich.”
“‘Lost Objects’ is an enchanted fable, a film that inhabits a space of wonder and enchantment,” Cândido says. “It forms a diptych with ‘The Passion According to G.H.,’ which was my most radical artistic journey — bringing me into the world of one of the great works of Brazilian literature, by Clarice Lispector. I made that journey hand in hand with Luiz Fernando Carvalho. Twenty-four years into our creative partnership, to embark on this new journey together is a profound joy and a privilege.”
Cândido is due to receive the prestigious Kikito de Cristal (Crystal Kikito) at this year’s Gramado Film Festival, taking place in the Brazilian southern town over August 12-22. The award is bestowed upon artists with standout trajectories in Brazilian and international cinema, and crowns Cândido’s decades-long career as one of the country’s most well-respected performers. This year marks the first time Gramado will hand out two Crystal Kikitos, with “I’m Still Here” star Selton Mello joining Cândido as an honoree. The selection marks a recognition of Brazil’s current international momentum, with Cândido also having starred in other major foreign productions such as “Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore” and Marco Bellocchio’s “The Traitor.”
Carvalho is one of Brazil’s most experienced filmmakers, having worked to great acclaim both in film and television in projects such as “To the Left of the Father” (“Lavoura arcaica”), “Two Brothers” (“Dois Irmãos”), “Capitu” and “The Kingdom’s Stone” (“A Pedra do Reino”). The director is known for his intricate literary adaptations and is responsible for bringing an inventive, elaborate visual language often dedicated exclusively to films to television, with his successful 2005 miniseries “Today Is Maria’s Day” standing out as one of the country’s great small screen offerings.
Earlier this year, Carvalho was the subject of a career retrospective hosted by the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM), titled “May Your Eyes Be Blessed: Film and TV Work of Luiz Fernando Carvalho.” The program featured the North American premiere of “The Passion According to G.H.” and “To the Left of the Father,” which was selected by Abraccine among the 100 most important Brazilian films of all time.
