Diogo Morgado screened his short film "Excuse" at Lisbon's The Famous Fest, and our own Dina was in attendamce for this amazing event! She sent us some pictures of Diogo introducing the film:
(Click the "Read More" link below to read the rest of this post...)
Dina LOVED "Excuse." I am hoping she will write up a little something with her thoughts about the film to share with us.
Dina also saw Diogo being interviewed for an upcoming episode of SIC's "Fama Show." Can't wait to see it!
After the screening, Diogo did a short Q&A, taking questions about the short film he wrote and directed from the audience. Becaise Dina is truly awesome, she took some video of the Q&A with her phone so that we could see it too. And because she is beyond kind, she sent us a translation of it as well, posted below.
.
Diogo begins by thanking all those present for coming.
DM: I do not know if you want to ask any questions. For me, personally, it would be wonderful to answer.
AUDIENCE MEMBER: How was the shooting?
DM: The shooting was completely independent, it was my investment, it was my own money. It was one day of shooting. We had three days of rehearsal with Daniela and Alberto. It is not typical, it is not common to see "shorts" with such dialogue. Usually the short [film] is an excellent vehicle to tell the story but not with very interesting dialogue, in most cases. But for me, here, the interesting thing was just that. It was to have a place... in the end, it's just a scene, a scenario and shoot it so that suddenly, 6 pages of words aren't boring, yet have all the ingredients.... from two strangers who do not know each other, but are forced together, to interact with each other, and in the end, be perceived in a positive way. For me, the essence of this story was that we never can relate to the situation of another if we have not experienced something similar. We can imagine and say "I wonder how he feels," but we can never say "I know what that's like." We can only say "I know what that's like," if, in fact, we've lived through something similar. So for me, the goal... I worked with Daniela and Alberto ... the other actor ... Alberto ... Alberto. I speak as if you know Alberto. (laughs)
DM: But so, it was one day of shooting and the primary goal was this. Tell about a completely specific thing in a bit of a different way. For me as a director, I cannot say "as a director" but as a "directing exercise," for me it was this: 6 pages of dialogue, a place and two actors... create the images and the narrative without boring language.
(To the audience) Half the audience is still here, so I think it's alright. (and he gives a thumbs up as the audience applauds.)
DM: They did not put chairs which is precisely how to see if people don't stay the whole time (laughs), but I do not want to know. Somebody else [have a question]?
(A gentleman in the audience asks if he can make a comment.)
DM: Yes.
GENTLEMAN: Good evening. I give you congratulations, because you are too young, old enough to be my son, and you show there in 10 minutes with 2 people, 2 human beings, filming them.... you show that you have a drive in life. You put such drama in that dialogue, which I give you congratulations for, because you have shown a much maturer age than you are in reality.
(Diogo is touched, thanks him.)
GENTLEMAN: You have a long path ahead, I think with much interest, besides being a great actor.
(Diogo is deeply moved and grateful, as the audience applauds.)
DM: Right now I want to say that to do what this gentleman just did here, took great courage. Because it is very, very easy for people to point the finger, saying that it is badly done... and people rarely have the courage to stand up and try to defend what they believe.... what they think is worthwhile in this life. So a big thanks. Thank you, essentially for that courage. Thank you.
ANOTHER AUDIENCE MEMBER asks a question we can't really hear.
DM: The question ... sorry, (to the audience member) what's your name? Maria João, okay. And Sir (the Gentleman who made the comment)? Manuel? Thank you Manuel. Maria João was asking what was the main difference between telling a story as an actor and telling a story as a director. Please note that this story is not mine. What I like most is team work. You realize that alone, you do nothing and can never tell a story. But it is in fact an incredible challenge I feel when you can you pull together people and the best they have to offer and bring them all to a common project, in which everyone will be able to enjoy working on it. That to me is a huge challenge. So here, what we did was, I with Dana, who is my producer there, in the United States, who helped me get this project up and running. We started by launching a challenge at some universities, for writers, for screenwriters. They responded by saying so "we have a script that we liked you to film." This story ["Excuse"] was the only one that was not a script. It was a short story. And I felt the story even though it had no dialogue, was only in narrative form, but the way it was written, I felt that it was an absolute truth. So it spoke louder to me than any other script that was in screenplay format. So I asked the author of the story if I could write the script, based on what she had written. So all the dialogue was written by me, to service her story. Soon there after we create an energy that is totally different from an actor who rexeives a script and interprets a script. The energy is completely different, because we are working as a team and then my role as director is to make all the other musical instruments play the music that I think will best honor the story. It is not what I think, is what I think the story deserves. It is this energy and this generosity to the story, which is free of ego. That appeals to me more and more... the directing side of it, and how often I no longer have the patience to put up with certain things in other projects I find less interesting... so perhaps I will do more of it and over time, not do as much work as an actor. It's life. Thank you. I do not know if I answered the question well...
(Applause.)
DM: One more question before you send me away.
AUDIENCE MEMBER: How was working with Daniela Ruah?
DM: I felt whenever we talked, we were on the same wavelength, and had the same view: the stories are more important than us and we serve the stories. So whenever we thought about it [working together], we said "It is not this, not this yet." She even asked the series she was filming, if they needed a European to play a role.
(laughs)
DM: So we had a great desire [to work together]. I was spending the season in the United States, and the hunger combined with the desire to eat.The script came along, things happened. Working with her was very easy because she wanted to tell this story. The wanting to tell this story, the wanting to indulge in the story, is half the work. Here there is no agenda other than that. So, basically, I, it's just as if she was there to perform and I to represent the story, because sometimes there are things that we do that when we are doing them, we have no idea how it is coming out. Often the director, what he does is to provide a mirror and say so "look, this is what is coming through. Is that what we want?" Sometimes a director is just that, a mediator between the story and what is being done.
As for future projects, even today, until 8pm, we were doing post-production on a feature film called "Malapata" already now you'll know, we are in post-production, there's my editor (points to the audience) "We are in this together dude." So if all goes well, this year I'll also debut a comedy, something completely different from what we saw today. Rui Unas and Marco Horacio lead a large cast, all shot in Algarve. A feature film. If all goes well, by the end of the year "Malapata" will be out. So if you hear "Malapata" you'll already know what it is.
(Applause.)
DM: Thank you. Thank you very much. Thanks Rui (the host of screening.)
____
I could listen to Diogo talk about directing forever, so OBRIGADA DINA! And I just want to take a moment to say how truly wonderful Dina is for ALL that she does for all of us. She is the unsung hero because I literally could not, and would not want to, do this without her. I am so thrilled she got to see "Excuse" and Diogo's Q&A, and a HUGE thank you to her for making sure we could all be a part of it as well. Oh and please let us know in the comments if you went to the screening of "Excuse" please! I'm dying to see the film, and would love to hear your thoughts on it. Obrigada!
--Sara
DM: I do not know if you want to ask any questions. For me, personally, it would be wonderful to answer.
AUDIENCE MEMBER: How was the shooting?
DM: The shooting was completely independent, it was my investment, it was my own money. It was one day of shooting. We had three days of rehearsal with Daniela and Alberto. It is not typical, it is not common to see "shorts" with such dialogue. Usually the short [film] is an excellent vehicle to tell the story but not with very interesting dialogue, in most cases. But for me, here, the interesting thing was just that. It was to have a place... in the end, it's just a scene, a scenario and shoot it so that suddenly, 6 pages of words aren't boring, yet have all the ingredients.... from two strangers who do not know each other, but are forced together, to interact with each other, and in the end, be perceived in a positive way. For me, the essence of this story was that we never can relate to the situation of another if we have not experienced something similar. We can imagine and say "I wonder how he feels," but we can never say "I know what that's like." We can only say "I know what that's like," if, in fact, we've lived through something similar. So for me, the goal... I worked with Daniela and Alberto ... the other actor ... Alberto ... Alberto. I speak as if you know Alberto. (laughs)
DM: But so, it was one day of shooting and the primary goal was this. Tell about a completely specific thing in a bit of a different way. For me as a director, I cannot say "as a director" but as a "directing exercise," for me it was this: 6 pages of dialogue, a place and two actors... create the images and the narrative without boring language.
(To the audience) Half the audience is still here, so I think it's alright. (and he gives a thumbs up as the audience applauds.)
DM: They did not put chairs which is precisely how to see if people don't stay the whole time (laughs), but I do not want to know. Somebody else [have a question]?
(A gentleman in the audience asks if he can make a comment.)
DM: Yes.
GENTLEMAN: Good evening. I give you congratulations, because you are too young, old enough to be my son, and you show there in 10 minutes with 2 people, 2 human beings, filming them.... you show that you have a drive in life. You put such drama in that dialogue, which I give you congratulations for, because you have shown a much maturer age than you are in reality.
(Diogo is touched, thanks him.)
GENTLEMAN: You have a long path ahead, I think with much interest, besides being a great actor.
(Diogo is deeply moved and grateful, as the audience applauds.)
DM: Right now I want to say that to do what this gentleman just did here, took great courage. Because it is very, very easy for people to point the finger, saying that it is badly done... and people rarely have the courage to stand up and try to defend what they believe.... what they think is worthwhile in this life. So a big thanks. Thank you, essentially for that courage. Thank you.
ANOTHER AUDIENCE MEMBER asks a question we can't really hear.
DM: The question ... sorry, (to the audience member) what's your name? Maria João, okay. And Sir (the Gentleman who made the comment)? Manuel? Thank you Manuel. Maria João was asking what was the main difference between telling a story as an actor and telling a story as a director. Please note that this story is not mine. What I like most is team work. You realize that alone, you do nothing and can never tell a story. But it is in fact an incredible challenge I feel when you can you pull together people and the best they have to offer and bring them all to a common project, in which everyone will be able to enjoy working on it. That to me is a huge challenge. So here, what we did was, I with Dana, who is my producer there, in the United States, who helped me get this project up and running. We started by launching a challenge at some universities, for writers, for screenwriters. They responded by saying so "we have a script that we liked you to film." This story ["Excuse"] was the only one that was not a script. It was a short story. And I felt the story even though it had no dialogue, was only in narrative form, but the way it was written, I felt that it was an absolute truth. So it spoke louder to me than any other script that was in screenplay format. So I asked the author of the story if I could write the script, based on what she had written. So all the dialogue was written by me, to service her story. Soon there after we create an energy that is totally different from an actor who rexeives a script and interprets a script. The energy is completely different, because we are working as a team and then my role as director is to make all the other musical instruments play the music that I think will best honor the story. It is not what I think, is what I think the story deserves. It is this energy and this generosity to the story, which is free of ego. That appeals to me more and more... the directing side of it, and how often I no longer have the patience to put up with certain things in other projects I find less interesting... so perhaps I will do more of it and over time, not do as much work as an actor. It's life. Thank you. I do not know if I answered the question well...
(Applause.)
DM: One more question before you send me away.
AUDIENCE MEMBER: How was working with Daniela Ruah?
DM: I felt whenever we talked, we were on the same wavelength, and had the same view: the stories are more important than us and we serve the stories. So whenever we thought about it [working together], we said "It is not this, not this yet." She even asked the series she was filming, if they needed a European to play a role.
(laughs)
DM: So we had a great desire [to work together]. I was spending the season in the United States, and the hunger combined with the desire to eat.The script came along, things happened. Working with her was very easy because she wanted to tell this story. The wanting to tell this story, the wanting to indulge in the story, is half the work. Here there is no agenda other than that. So, basically, I, it's just as if she was there to perform and I to represent the story, because sometimes there are things that we do that when we are doing them, we have no idea how it is coming out. Often the director, what he does is to provide a mirror and say so "look, this is what is coming through. Is that what we want?" Sometimes a director is just that, a mediator between the story and what is being done.
As for future projects, even today, until 8pm, we were doing post-production on a feature film called "Malapata" already now you'll know, we are in post-production, there's my editor (points to the audience) "We are in this together dude." So if all goes well, this year I'll also debut a comedy, something completely different from what we saw today. Rui Unas and Marco Horacio lead a large cast, all shot in Algarve. A feature film. If all goes well, by the end of the year "Malapata" will be out. So if you hear "Malapata" you'll already know what it is.
(Applause.)
DM: Thank you. Thank you very much. Thanks Rui (the host of screening.)
____
I could listen to Diogo talk about directing forever, so OBRIGADA DINA! And I just want to take a moment to say how truly wonderful Dina is for ALL that she does for all of us. She is the unsung hero because I literally could not, and would not want to, do this without her. I am so thrilled she got to see "Excuse" and Diogo's Q&A, and a HUGE thank you to her for making sure we could all be a part of it as well. Oh and please let us know in the comments if you went to the screening of "Excuse" please! I'm dying to see the film, and would love to hear your thoughts on it. Obrigada!
--Sara
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