Three Awards at CineSerra Film Festival

From left to right: winners Pablo Chasseraux, Chico Pereira and Ana Gusson

Kassandra did well at the awards of the second edition of CineSerra Film Festival. The film received three awards at last Sunday, October 26, at SESC Theatre in Caxias do Sul, Brazil. 

We won the following categories:

• Best Cinematography for Pablo Chasseraux: This is his second award for the black-and-white photography in the movie.
• Best Art Direction for Ana Gusson: Kassandra is only hes second short at the function. The first, the beautiful Princess and the Pea, can be see here.
• Best Music Score for Chico Pereira: He who works with director Ulisses Costa da Motta from the first short of both, O Gritador (2006). This is the first award received by the composer for his work with movies.

Kassandra mentioned in italian book

Kassandra is mentioned in La Notte Più Longa Del Mondo - Evil Dolls Movies, written by Samuelle Zàccaro and published bu UliversItalia. It's a complete guide for all films in wich a evil doll or puppet appears. 

Zàccaro got in touch with our director, Ullisses da Motta Costa, a few months ago to learn more about Blá-Blá, the main character's favorite dreadful toy. Now, he kindly send us his review for the film: 

KASSANDRA ***

2013, directed by Ulisses da Motta Costa. Starring Luis Franke, Leandro Lefa, Maico Silveira, Renata Stein. BRAZIL, 24min. B&W.

Young and beautiful Kassandra (Renata Stein) suffers from hallucinations. She is a recluse in her own home and refuses to speak. She is paranoid, claustrophobic and scared of crowds. She is afraid of her neighbour who is spying on her and her mind is obsessed with an ageing giant man and an evil doll. 

Psychological thriller with a good tension, the film adages to show the ghosts and fears crowding the mind of the complex main character. The film centres around psychological sufferings and symbolisms and it can be remembered for its conclusion and for the choice of filming everything in black and white thus placing the story in a sort of temporal limbo. Originality is not its main strength but the director demonstrates to have a good and assured hand. the film has been completed thanks to the funds of the Fundo municipal de Cultura and has won some awards in its country of production. 

Trivia: the doll used in the film (one of the numerous obsessions and fears of the protagonist) was owned by a woman working with the film's crew. She had had the doll since childhood but always found her to be somewhat creepy. The doll's model, called Blà-Blà, was very popular in Brasil in the 1950s and 1960s.

Making of Kassandra - 4 - Tarot cards

Eager to see more making of videos? While we organize the material recorded during the filming and pre-production, follows an appetizer: a test of black-and-white tarot (which was not used).  In the background, diretor Ulisses and producer Roberto Coutinho were talking about one of the locations - an old mad house... (video in portuguese).

Wanna know more about the tarot cards in Kassandra? Go check this post here.

Kassandra's Tarot

One of the main elements in Kassandra is the tarot cards. Actually, the cards are the film’s great mystery: everyday, a new card appears mysteriously inside Kassandra’s apartment. 

Director Ulisses of the Motta Costa says: “The tarot cards have something puzzling in its image. Most of the people do not know its esoteric meaning but they search in it at least a suggestion of some occult meaning to be disclosed. Therefore, they are part of what is hidden in the universe of Kassandra". 

Although the tarot don’t have esoteric function in the narrative, the scriptwriter Roger Monteiro decided to respect the meaning given traditionally to each card, relating it with specific moments of the film and with the character’s state of mind.

Kassandra's home

It's time to present Kassandra's home, where most of the scene take place. It is an apartment in Moinhos de Vento, in the City of Porto Alegre. In the picture above, art director Ana Gusson evaluates the place. That's right, it's not a ghost. 

The apartment have the necessary size and characteristics for the movie, as the long corridor in the picture bellow.

The place is also the production headquarters and meetings and rehearsals have been made there - which helps to capture the film's mood and atmosphere.