A short film that portrays a day in the life of Lena, a single mother between two jobs, who fights for a better future for herself and her son.
Lena has two jobs. She is part-time baker at dawn and works in a supermarket during the day. There is night, in his spare time, he has a son to look after. In the middle what is left? A woman in mourning who tries to reinvent herself on her way. A raw portrait of a mother and her relationship with those around her, for another day of her life.
DIRECTOR STATEMENT
Being the daughter of a single mother, I have always seen and lived her troubled day-to-day life. Start working at 5/6 in the morning until 8 pm. Catching me in bed still half asleep, transporting me to the car and I just wake up, already dressed, in the school. In addition to it, my grandparents were also part of this bustle, they were the ones who would pick me up from school in the middle of the afternoon and they were the ones who entertained me in my childhood afternoons where I spent a lot of time taking care of their garden, or at least the play that he did. In 2016, in my early 20s and after a relationship that didn't go so well, I asked my mother - "how was your life as a single mother?" "What was your love and sex life like?" To which she replied “I didn't have time”, and this phrase stayed with me for a long time. One day when I was taking pleasure in myself, I realized that she didn't even have time for those kinds of moments, between work and coming home and sleeping in the same bed at her parents' house, with them at home, her sex life and her sexual freedom were stuck in time. I very naturally started to have ideas and flashes for this film, not knowing where it was going to take me, but I knew that I wanted it to give single mothers the chance to allow themselves to have that moment, whether they were making time, whether they were discarding religious guilt or physics of what female pleasure is and how it is still seen by many people today. I wanted, with this film, to leave a note that being a mother and being a full time worker does not stop being women and that they can no longer feel pleasure even if it is in something as simple and as pure as being pleasure with themselves. .
VISUAL IDENTITY
Cinema is the inspiration between those who are and those who are going. Films by directors such as Ken Loach, Chantal Akerman, Agnès Varda and the brothers Luc Dardenne and Jean-Pierre Dardenne, are highly inspiring and inspecting for the director Janine Gonçalves. With some stills of them we managed to get the perception of the reading that the director wants for this narrative.
News From Home (Chantal Akerman, 1977)
News From Home (Chantal Akerman, 1977)
I, Daniel Blake (Ken Loach, 2016)
I, Daniel Blake (Ken Loach, 2016)
About the author
Waves Of Youth was born in 2017 as a collective for a group of friends to share their art and their films. In 2020 it became an association and now produces and distributes a dozen films, among other projects. More info here .
TEAM PRESENTATION
The team is composed of new talents recently graduated in several Portuguese film schools such as Escola Superior de Teatro e Cinema, Escola Superior de Media Artes e Design and Escola Superior de Tecnologia de Abrantes, in courses ranging from fiction to cinema. documentary. A perfect symbiosis for the theme to be portrayed in this project.
It will be directed by Janine Gonçalves , who has in her portfolio a long documentary about the history of three generations of women from the same family, to debut soon by the hand of Waves Of Youth and also a vast work in documentary photography on various social and cultural themes. artistic.
The production direction is headed by Tomás Barão da Cunha , with a vast production curriculum and short films, documentaries and music videos, in which his most recent short film 'A Eternidade e Uma Noite' stands out, in cooperation with several elements of this same team and also 'Aegean', also a cooperation of several base elements of Waves Of Youth, a documentary about the refugee crisis in the northern Mediterranean.
The director of photography is in charge of Miguel Canaverde and Pedro Mourinha , both with a long portfolio by Waves Of Youth in several short films and documentaries such as 'Aegean' and 'Eternity and One Night' and also authors of projects such as the music video 'Primeira Classe', production for Atalaia Airlines and David Bruno and films like 'Water's Edge' and '507'.
The sound direction is in charge of Marcelo Tavares , multifaceted sound director who already has several credits in films such as 'Errar a Noite', 'A Chuva Calalanta a Dor', 'Em Caso de Fogo' and also with several roles as actor in award-winning films such as 'Poder Fantasma' and 'Amor, Avenidas Novas'.
The performance of assistance and production support are in charge of Pedro Pimentel and Maria Lopes, respectively. The first one already has a vast curriculum in several film and television productions in various departments, as in 'Two In One', 'Instaverso', 'Eternity and One Night', among others. The second is a longtime collaborator with Waves Of Youth, having already worked on several projects and developing many others.
Budget and due dates
The production of a film, even more so in a pandemic context, is an always Herculean struggle, which involves a lot of effort and dedication to reach a successful outcome. Without a financial base, it is practically impossible to develop a project in which all elements are valued and financial support itself is a fundamental part for projects to be carried out safely and in ideal conditions.
The amount raised is intended to support items such as Cast (€ 200) , Art Direction (€ 50) , Accommodation (€ 100) , Food (€ 200) , Image and Sound Departments (€ 50) , Covid-19 tests (€ 50) and all the logistics involving Transport (€ 100) , among others.
- € 500 - Minimum production support: With this amount, added to the sum of supports, it is possible to make the film with some restrictions.
- € 750 - Basic production support: With this sum, it is possible to carry out the production of the film without the funding restrictions of the previous level.
- € 900 - Support for post-production: At this level of support, there is an amount allocated that assures us an added value in terms of sound and image post-production.
- € 1150 - Distribution support: This support ensures the distribution of the film at the level of national, European and world festivals, among other forms of distribution.
Gross amounts to which the PPL.pt commission is subtracted: 5% + 2.5% + VAT
The film will be shot during the month of April and will premiere after the summer of 2021. The physical and digital rewards will begin to be delivered in May 2021.
To contribute, simply select a reward or set a value of your choice. This project will only be financed if 100% of the requested amount is reached, otherwise, the amount of your support is returned to you in full.
