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Funding

FUNDING WILL BE HYPOTHETICAL, AS ALL BUDGET WILL BE PROVIDED.

As it is a short film, finding external funding from an investor looking to make a profit will be unlikely as the opportunity for the film to make any money will be limited. It is more likely that we would be able to acquire funding through an IndieGoGo or Kickstarter campaign, or potentially through a European funding programme such as Eurimages.

This is a programme which provides funding for European co-productions. It was found through the website https://www.olffi.com/country/Film-Funding-Cinema-Portugal-38.html, which serves as a list for funding bodies around the world. Unfortunately, the eligibility requirements suggest that the minimum duration for any films created through this project would be 70 minutes, which would mean that the film would be far too short to be eligible. However, it is worth keeping this in mind should the film ever be considered for development for a feature.

A more relevant idea would be to go through either the BFI (British Film Institute), or the relevant department of the “Spain Film Commission” (http://www.shootinginspain.info/index.php/en/spain-film-commission-uk.html). As we are planning to shoot just outside Madrid it would probably be necessary to go through the Madrid Film Office in order to secure the necessary funding.

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Schedule

The script says that the film begins in September, so shooting in the summer would be suitable for the film. I have chosen between the 9th and the 13th of June as it is possible to get a hotel and flights cheaply. It actually worked out cheaper if the flights came back on the Thursday rather than Wednesday so the price of the hotel for the extra day would be offset by the cheaper flights.

Sunday: Arrive and shoot kitchen scenes

Monday: Shoot living room scenes, road scene with Jose

Tuesday: Church scenes and scenes with Manuel

Wednesday: Pickup shots/contingency day

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Travel

Flight for one person from Stanstead airport in London to Madrid on Sunday 9th July.

22 cast and crew members would require transport.

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Accommodation

San Bernardo Rooms in Madrid (correct as of 21:42 on Tuesday 28th March).

Price is for 4 people in one room for 5 days in mid July.

To accommodate the entire cast and crew would probably require 5 rooms, as some cast members would not require overnight accommodation

£910 total

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Locations

It could potentially be cheaper to shoot in Spain than Portugal. In 2015, the Spanish treasury released a 15% tax credit on international films being shot in the country, up to a limit of €2.5 million. VAT in Spain also currently stands at 18% as opposed to 23% in Portugal. A location scout would probably be required in order to find a suitable region that may have houses that mirror what Portugal may have been like in the 1960’s, who will be included in the budget. BECTU suggests £180 a day, and they would probably be required for 2 days as there are 2 main locations.

Shooting in a traditional Spanish or Portuguese chapel would be beneficial for the authenticity of the film. The chapel shown above is the Ermita de nuestra señora de la paz, just outside Madrid. Despite having been erected in the late 1970′s, this church possesses an element of rustic charm and innocent hope that an older, more dilapidated church may not.

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Budget

For the purposes of the budget, it is assumed that the film is mainly being shot 20 miles outside the Madrid city centre. Travel and accommodation budgets will be taking this into account. Aside from Manuel and the Father, the actors will all be working for Equity minimum (£447.50 a week) with all travel and catering expenses paid. Wagner Moura would command a much higher salary, as would Jake T Austin. Both of their roles would only require one day’s worth of shooting, and therefore a cap of £1500 per day per actor plus expenses would potentially be suitable.

The intention is to hire crew with their own equipment, which would save on hire costs as well as saving time working out exactly what would be needed for the shoot.

Above is a rough budget for the film (excluding equipment hire and cast & crew salaries). It includes flights, catering, insurance, production design, accommodation, and van hire. It does not include actor or crew wages.

For the crew wages, I have taken my figures from those provided by BECTU for the daily rates for different crew members and multiplied them by 5 in order to get an overall cost for a 5 day shoot week. The Head of Department roles (Director, Production Designer etc.) are not given on BECTU and so I have budgeted a daily rate of £500 for each role; this may be too low.

All of these figures were inputted into a spreadsheet and then factored into the budget. The final budget is as follows:

The 10% contingency fee would be more than enough to cover any unforeseen circumstances. As it will all be being shot on location, the set build and dressing budgets can afford to be very low. Unfortunately, most websites which provide military vehicles for hire do not have a set price available, and so a cost to hire them has not been included in the budget.

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Exploitation

The film would more than likely be entered into festivals, as the opportunity for generating revenue off a Portuguese language short film will be limited. The best that can realistically be hoped for with a film of this nature would be a prestigious award at a festival, which could lead to funding for a feature film at some point in the future. Potentially the most accessible and relevant festival would be the Utopia Film Festival in London (http://www.utopiafestival.org.uk/) which celebrates the best of Portuguese cinema. Critically acclaimed Portuguese pictures such as “Tabu” (2012) have been involved in this festival, and it would be a good place to garner attention for the film.

However, this festival is just a series of screenings rather than a competition. To gain the most attention and potential acclaim for the film it would need to be entered into a prestigious event, such as the Sundance Film Festival (http://www.sundance.org/festivals/sundance-film-festival/about/#submit) or the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival (http://www.clermont-filmfest.com/?nlang=2). Festivals in Portugal would not have enough international public attention for them to be worthwhile entering into.

However, because the film is set in an important part in Portuguese history, it could be a part of the marketing technique to premiere it in Portugal and then to enter it into festivals worldwide. 

The film could be marketed as a commentary on the sexual empowerment of young women, in the same vein as “Cabaret” (1972), “American Beauty” (1999), or “Green Chair” (2005). What with current feminist culture and the director’s success with other films which tackle similar themes, this could be a very important marketing technique.

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Proposed Cast

MARIA

Veronica Sarno is a London based Brazilian actress who I feel would fit the part of Maria. She is a native Portuguese speaker with an MA in acting from Drama Centre London, and an extensive list of stage credits in London, Russia, and Portugal.

Despite being 26 years old she has the ability to look far younger, even stretching to the same age as the character of Maria. Being slightly older, she has more of a womanly quality to her which would add to her performance during the more intimate scenes. She is an unknown quantity as an actress and therefore would add a potential element of intrigue to the lead role.

CARLA

Similar enough in appearance to Veronica Sarno to be considered siblings, Andreia Vieira is a 22 year old actress based in Surrey. Whilst not necessarily fluent, she is a Portuguese speaker and would therefore require little to no accent training work.

Another unknown quantity, it would be possible to get her on board with the promise of exposure to a wider audience which could lead to further opportunities in future.

As a younger woman than Veronica, she has a much more innocent quality. This would work well as the character of Clara is supposed to be the confused younger sister to Maria’s sexually liberated femme fatale.

ROSA

Another fluent Portuguese speaker, Magda De Melo fits as a sibling to both Veronica Sarno and Andreia Vieira.

Although she is 17 at the time of writing, she will be 18 by the time the film will be being shot and so no additional licensing will be required.

Posesses very similar faciel features to Veronica Sarno.

MANUEL

For the character of Manuel, I would consider the casting of Jake T Austin. Austin would be a fit for the role because his ethnicity fits the character, and his age is not so far removed from Manuel’s that it would be unbelievable. He is a well known name in the United States and therefore would add additional box-office appeal in that country.

His background in films such as “The Valley” and “Grantham & Rose” shows that he is capable of playing more dramatic roles than those that he is possibly more well known for (“The Wizards of Waverley Place”).

FATHER

For me, Brazilian Wagner Moura is the prime candidate to play the role of Maria’s father. A native Portuguese speaker and Golden Globe nominee, Moura would add box office appeal for fans of the hit Netflix original series “Narcos”.

Since Narcos concluded, Moura has no upcoming commitments according to his iMDB and therefore would more than likely be available for the shoot dates.

MOTHER

Teresa Tavares is another Portuguese actress who can be found through CastingCallPro. She could realistically be the mother of all 3 girls and would be willing to work for equity minimum.

It would not be necessary to cast a star for the role of the mother as the role itself has very few lines and bears little impact on the story. It would make more sense to save the money for other things rather than cast a big name actress.

JOSE

Slightly awkward looking, Amir Mime would fit well into the role of Jose.

The character is required to be a confused young boy who is taken advantage of by Maria, and Amir will hopefully have the ability to undertake this role.

Fluent Portuguese speaker.

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Proposed Director

For this piece, I would choose Paul Verhoeven as my ideal director. He has proven himself to be capable of delving into the more taboo side of sexual fantasy with films such as “Elle” and “Basic Instinct”. His experience in the film industry speaks for itself, as he has been active for over 30 years and has won various international awards for his productions. He is currently writing and directing a film called “Lyon 1943” which could potentially lead to scheduling conflicts.

Another director I considered was Sofia Coppola, as I felt that potentially a female director would be able to give a more first-hand edge to the film. By this, I mean that a female director may be able to empathise more with the female characters in the story. She also has pedigree in directing historical dramas with her 2006 film “Marie Antionette”.

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Creative Approach

The colour scheme over the course of the film will be warm oranges and yellows; which will emphasise the country in which the film is set as well as the youthful femininity of Maria and Clara. Potentially either shooting on celluloid or adding a grainy filter to the film in post could help give the audience the feel of it being set in the 1960’s.

As the Portuguese colonial war is a conflict which never really got much international attention, I feel like it is important to maintain as much historical realism as possible to do it justice. This would include setting it in an area of similar architectural geography, as well as during a similar season to what may have been applicable to history.

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Logline

The story of a young Portuguese woman exploring her own sexual nature after her husband leaves for war.