SWIMMING COMPULSIVE

by Vasco Câmara

PEDRO learned how to breathe under water, but that doesn't mean that the stream won't take him: in the summer days, in the river, in his dreams, at home, in Coimbra's suburbs, or in the love games with a girl. At the end of this short film "Breathing (under water)', by Antonio Ferreira, when we leave Pedro (Alexandre Pinto who played in 'The Mutants" by Teresa Vilaverde and "Evil" by Seixas Santos), the bus he is sitting in, disappears down the hill, like as if he was sinking. 'Pedro is someone who is being suffocated, in his relationship with his parents or with his girlfriend', says Antonio Ferreira, 30 years old.
'In the end the story opens once again, he's taken by the stream. Even if he knows 'how to swim', even if he is strong enough to stay alive, he's always taken away. It's like life: we can resolve a problem, but that doesn't mean we're going to be happy forever.' "Breathing (underwater)" is the Portuguese contribution to the competitive section "Cinefondation' in Cannes, which awards short films from Film Schools or debut fiction and animation films. Antonio Ferreira lives between Coimbra and Berlin, where he studied at the TV and Film Academy, after graduating from the Film University in Lisbon - entities that also supported this film with logistic means, co-produced by the Portuguese Film Institute and the Portuguese Public Television - he films the music of the 'days going by' in the breathless summer of a teenager.
Is this how Antonio Ferreira sees Coimbra? 'I recognize here a certain life style, a 'stay cool' thing, just being by the river and smoke a joint. But this could be anywhere else. What I wanted to film was the way that people relate with one another, and I needed time to achieve that. During the shooting, the takes became longer than we expected (it was supposed to be half an hour long and ended up with 45 minutes). I felt the need to show the world of Pedro and his friends, their lives, their routines: they always go to the river, always in the afternoon and always to the same place. Its like a musical, with strong arrangements followed by something really soft. Suffocating Coimbra? "Lately the city is getting borring. Everything that doesnt fit the University activities is asphyxiated.
He was the author of the video clip "Sunset Boulevard', by Belle Chase Hotel and he laughs saying that "what I would like to do is a musicals, after we've asked him if making this music video was a way of getting near to that. Wrong question, because a musical is also the way that the pictures and sound combine in "Breathing...' "I used to make music before films and I like telling stories with pictures and music. Sound is extremely important, in the very strong contrasts, like a musical experience. I like the lightness of rock, the idea of grabbing a guitar and that was it. I like bringing that 'lightness' to the movies. And he also likes the films by Lars Von Trier, David Lynch and all the others that "stretch the limits'. Currently he's writing his first feature and refers to a class given by filmmaker Paulo Rocha to illustrate his idea of a good film. 'He said that a good film is like a pair of glasses. After we've seen it, we come outside and see reality in a different way. V.C.

Lisbon - "Publico", May 18th 2000