Same/Different/Both/Neither

Fernanda: I’m interested in cinema history, especially its overlooked aspects and forms that challenge the mainstream film language. So, when the social isolation started, I felt the urge to finally dive into a filmography I had always been curious about. I called Adriana, who had moved to Los Angeles, and suggested we researched these women directors and also that we started to communicate strictly through video letters inspired by them.

Adriana: I accepted immediately. To me, there was an urgency to experiment with narratives based on the female gaze. We are two women directors who understand that the majority of our references were based on male directors and how this has influenced our own perspectives and formal approaches. For us, it was overdue to question film aesthetics and how we tell stories, through new research, influences, lenses and gazes.

F: The epistolary format is ideal to us for two main reasons. First, because we had a genuine need to reconnect with each other, at distance, but in a deeper, more meaningful way. Zoom calls or WhatsApp were not enough to share our reflections during these times. Second, we longed for a collaborative creation, to be in a dialogue with another woman filmmaker, sharing reflections on life, politics and cinema.

A: One of our main goals was to rediscover the work of pioneer women filmmakers of the avant-garde, who were overlooked due to the overwhelming male dominance in this arena. With that in mind, we’ve chosen 4 female directors who had groundbreaking work.

F: Inspired by these women, our video-letters reflect on many subjects suggested by them, but also on our current context, living in two of the countries who have dealt the worst with the pandemic: Brazil and the US.

A: Besides, the film has an important integration between theory and praxis, something we tend to look for in our projects. We immersed ourselves in theoretical research, watching everything we could find from the filmmakers, and then put it into practice, using their own formal resources and experimentations as a reference in each video-letter.

F: With this film, we would like to make people look for other references and question the established cinematographic forms.

A: But also, to value the women who struggled to make films that don't conform to a hegemonic, mainstream cinema.