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Your new movie Livestream
- in a few words, what's it about? It’s about how the internet and social media made people less
empathetic, more fake, and more exposed. It shows the dangers of
oversharing online, the false connections with influencers and even
friends, and how toxic this digital world can be—especially for a
generation that grew up in it. Your personal
thoughts about internet celebrities, vloggers, influencers, TikTok-stars
and the like, and to what extent are they mirrored in your movie? I actually was a YouTuber myself in the early 2010s. I made vlogs,
sketches, priorities, all type of content that you can imagine for social
media for a long time, and after that I started working with many people
that became famous influencers and now are my friends, and I still do work
with them. So I've literally lived for over a decade around these people,
and even though I don't consider myself one of them because I don't have a
big following online, I've seen all the struggles they've been through,
all the good and the bad about their fame, and I believe it's a very
broken industry that gives false power to many young people that feel like
they accomplished everything they always wanted when they actually don't even know what they actually want. It has a glorious side
to it,
an amazing side, but it's also very dangerous for you to lose yourself. (Other)
sources of inspiration when writing Livestream?
Since I started as a YouTuber myself and have many friends that lived this
life, so I've seen the dangers from within, and I've seen all the
threats that these people get on DMs every day, and the bad comments, and
the real threats in live events. We've even seen some deadly ones happen
to a few web celebrities in the past decade. And all this made me think
that people don't realize how dangerous it is to overshare online, and to
make people believe that you are actually their friends when they don't
even know you. So I thought about writing some story about it. The idea of
making it a one-long-shot live stream came right after that, because I
just love the found footage genre, and then I had this idea after I decided
that I wanted to share this side of the internet. Found
footage movies often feature (more than) their fair amount of
improvisation - so how closely to the script did you stick when making Livestream?
I actually started my career on improv, going to improv festivals and
performing. I even have "Yes And" tattooed on my arm. So,
improvisation is not just a big part of this film, but every single
project I've directed. This one, because it's a long take, definitely has
way more improvisation than other projects, but for me, the script is
simply a guide, and then we just go crazy from it.
Livestream
was shot in one single take (or was there any trickery?) - so what are the
challenges of making a movie that way, and how many tries did you need to
get it right? The simple fact that you're asking this question makes me happy, because
it was so hard to get this right. I really wanted to make it a one-take
movie, but we didn't have the budget or the time to rehearse and prepare
the whole set for it, so we shot in eight days, so basically around eight
takes, but we have some takes there that are like 25 minutes long with no
cuts. I still see every single hidden cut in the movie and it drives me
crazy, but I´m glad no one else but me noticed it What can you tell us about
Livestream's
approach to horror? I actually don't consider Livestream
a horror. For me, it's simply a
thriller. And I'm really afraid of people going to watch the movie
thinking it's going to be a haunted house horror or something like that,
when it's more about the dramatic relationship between the characters and
the comments being written about them. It's definitely an experience that
I want people to have, thinking about the threats these characters are
going through in a realistic way, thinking this could actually happen. A few words about your directorial
approach to your story at hand? I always try to start with the actors. I work with Grotowski and his
methods. I don't know if you're familiar with his techniques, but it's
very physical, it's very exterior to the interior. I do a lot of immersion
with the actors, put them through a lot of intense situations, and try to
build these characters and what they're feeling in the moment. Then, from
that, I start to think about everything else. In this project in
particular, the camera was a character as well, so it played a lot within
the structure that I was building. And then, adding the comments as well
as characters would just give another layer to that style in
post-production itself. So, in this one project, I think, compared to all
the other projects I've directed, every single detail is a character, from
the actors to the camera and to the comments.
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You also appear in front of the camera in Livestream
- so what can you tell us about your character, what did you draw upon to
bring him to life, and did you write him with yourself in mind from the
get-go? I did write Pedro with myself in mind back in 2018, but as drafts started
to change and also the production itself started to become a reality, I
just decided not to play him anymore. So we hired another actor and we
rehearsed with him, we had everything ready. Three days before he got cast in another big production that he couldn't refuse. So then I was
thrown back into the character three days before production. And to be
honest, even though I was really afraid of directing and acting in it, it
was the best project for it to happen because I could direct from within
the scene, because in this project I couldn't just call cut and just do it
again. There would have been a 10, 15, 25 minute take lost. So if I felt
something was not going through the way I wanted, I would just improv
something and try to get people to follow my lead from within the scene.
And I've done it a couple of times. I don't want to spoil anything, but
there is even a moment that I push another actor physically and this was
not scripted, so he got even more pissed within the scene. And then you
can see myself in the back looking at him and in the back of my mind was
just like - "hell yeah man, that's the anger I want." Do talk about the rest of your cast, and why
exactly these people? The casting process was very chaotic because it was a very short time that
we had, not a lot of money and not a lot of people involved, but I think
that the stars just aligned to find the right people that would feel
passion for this project. Like I said, we lost the actor who was going to
play Pedro and we also lost the actress that was supposed to play Lisa, and
Savannah Schakett was cast the same day we started to shoot. So she literally
went to leak arrowhead on the first day of shooting when she just got
cast. I think that was just the right people in the right place at the right time.
You of course also have to talk
about your location, and what was it like filming there? That cabin was beautiful, as you could see, and staying 10 days literally
living in that location was an amazing experience. Waking up to the
sunrise every morning in the mountains, watching the sunset between the
trees. I wish we could actually have a bonfire, a real one there, because
the one you see in the movie is actually VFX, because we were not allowed
to have real fire in the national park. But I wish we could just sit down
by a real bonfire with the crew and burn some marshmallows and have fun,
because that environment was just amazing. And I really want to go back
there, just to enjoy my time in that cabin. A
few words about the shoot as such, and the on-set atmosphere?
We were all just having a blast. Everybody was just joking around and
actually feeling like influencers ourselves. We were making videos and
photos and Instagram stories all the time, joking around, pranking each
other with makeup and fake blood. At the same time that was very rushed
and chaotic because we were trying to make this miracle movie in a really
short time with not a lot of money. Everybody was there because they love
the story and really want to play the characters and work in the project
because they really want to be there. So it was just a very fun
environment. If you look at the videos that everybody posted online, you
can just see that we were just having a blast even when we were tired.
There's even a video that we shot after a really long fight scene that
everybody was really tired, dead tired, but we couldn't stop laughing.
The whole set was just laughing non-stop because we were just so tired and
we finally got the shot. The way that our bodies expressed relief was by
just everybody laughing for like 10 minutes straight. Anything
you can tell us about audience and critical reception of
Livestream?
Still pretty early for me to know what the audience is going to say about
it. But I can say that there was a very interesting reaction we´ve got in
a pre-screening in Switzerland, where half the audience was millennial-gen
Z and the other half was past 50 years old. And the young crowd was
laughing reading the comments, while the older ones were worried that
people would actually react the way they were to people being killed in
front of their eyes. So it showed me de way these different generations
saw the same story being told. Any
future projects you'd like to share? I got another US feature coming out later this year called Let Me
Go, which is a dramatic thriller. A teenage rock musical called Speak Up with no date to be released in Brazil, and a horror
called The Silent One probably arriving in Brazil in the
second half of 2025. You initially
started your career as a stage actor, right? So what can you tell us about
that part of your career, and did you receive any formal education on the
subject? And what made you transition to film and TV eventually? Yes, and I graduated in Performing Arts in Rio de Janeiro back in 2014.
Like I said, I also started making videos for YouTube back in 2010, done
theater since 2009, I've worked actually in over 30 theater plays, several
short films, done a little bit of everything, and always loved being an
actor. But I also always loved to tell stories, so I honestly thought I
wanted to be a writer and actor, didn't think I want to be a director, I
thought I wanted to write the things I wanted to act on and someone else
would direct. But then I found myself trying to save a feature film from
basically not being finished when the director disappeared. And after we
finished, even though the project was not that good, I thought to myself,
I could actually do this, and I actually love doing it. So that was the
moment that I fell in love with directing. And the fact that I'm an actor
myself, I felt like I could connect more with the actors and direct them
better, because many directors only think about the technical parts and
forget about the human side of the film. And I really love connecting with
the actors on set and think my experience as an actor really helps me get
the projects the way that I want. But I still love acting, so whenever I
have the opportunity to do it, I'll do it.
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Over the years, you also leaned more and more towards directing your own
projects - so what prompted that move, and which side of the camera do you
actually prefer, and why? I think I kind of answered a little bit of that in the last question, but
I don't think I have a side that I like the most. I love acting, I really
love being in front of the camera, but I also really love telling a story
from behind the camera. So I think I love both the same way. I just felt
like I could do more making my own films and not just waiting for people
to cast me, so I just kept doing this. And as long as I love doing it,
I'll keep doing it. What can you tell us about
your filmwork prior to Livestream,
in whatever position? Livestream
was actually the second feature film that I officially
directed. The first one was called Ilhados/Stranded and was on Netflix in Latin
America. It was the movie that changed my life because it was number one
in Brazil and number six worldwide even though it never got to the US
and it really changed my life. But before that, I've done a little bit of
everything, not just acting. I've been a PA, I've been an AD, I've just
been the guy carrying boxes on set, I've been an extra in several shows,
so a little bit of everything. And I feel like being in those positions
helped me understand the crew and how to make everybody get along and
respect every position and understand how important every single person is
on set because I really think there are some directors that don't
understand how important sound is or how important the PAs are for the set
to actually work. And having the experience of being a little bit of
everything kind of helped myself to get to be a better director. And I
keep learning every day. I think every day that I have connections with
people in different positions on set, it just helps me grow as a director. How would you describe yourself as
an actor, and how as a director? As an actor, I think I would describe myself as pretty intense. I like to
go crazy with improv and to dive into the character and understand the
character I'm playing so it can become a real person for the people who
are watching. And as a director, I think I'm an acting and story-driven
director more than a technical director, even though I love when we have
some really smart technical ideas on set. And that's why I trust a lot my
DPs, my art director, my makeup artists, my costume designers, and
everyone else. Because when I just go crazy on the story and the actors,
they can just bring their own ideas to me and make the movie look
better than if I was the guy calling all the shots. But I think I'm a
pain in the ass in post production still. I gotta learn how to let go a
little bit on the editing bay. I still go frame by frame asking for
changes. Actors, filmmakers, whoever else who inspire you?
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I think it's even more than just actors and filmmakers. There are just
some artists that inspire me to become the artist I am today. From Robin
Williams, who's the genius of improvisation, to Steven Spielberg, of
course, he's one of the greatest directors of all time. But I also love
James Gunn, who I actually believe is insane in everything that he does.
And Edgar Wright is also one of the greatest directors that I've ever
watched. Makoto Shinkai is definitely a huge inspiration for me storytellingwise. But I can even go further than that. I think music influences me
a lot. And many of my scripts are actually written while I'm listening to
someone's soundtrack. So I can go from Linkin Park to Avril Lavigne, and
some newer bands like Against the Current and Yours Truly. They inspire
me to write stories. Your favourite movies?
Hard to narrow down to only a few, but if I could say the ones that I
could watch a million times: The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, Your Name
(the anime), Harry Potter and the Prisioner of Azkaban, Atlantis
(Disney
animation), Jumper, Treasure Planet (Disney
animation),
A Silent Voice (the anime) and A Goofy Movie (Disney
animation). ...
and of course, films you really deplore?
I don't think this would be something cool to say publically. I know how
hard is to people to make a movie and no filmmaker ever wants to make a
shitty film. They always believe their stories are good and worth telling.
Now, that being said. Are there movies I think are just a great piece of
crap? Of course. But let´s just say I would reather publically say
"I´m not the target audience" when it comes to them. Your/your
movie's website, social media whatever else? @vicbrla
Anything else you're dying to mention and I have merely forgotten to ask?
Just to tell young filmmakers and content creators that might be reading
not to think too much before doing something. Just create. And don't show
too much of your private life online, that's the biggest mistake you can
do both for your career and yourself. Thanks
for the interview!
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