SLO FILM FEST 2021 INTERVIEWS: Director Cassio Pereira dos Santos talks about his drama VALENTINA

Cassio Pereira dos Santos’ directorial debut, the Brazilian drama VALENTINA focuses on a 17-year old transgender girl who moves to rural Brazil with her mother to start fresh, after being bullied at her last high school. When enrolling with her new name, she faces a fresh round of injustices starting with an unexpected dilemma when the new school requires a second parental signature to prevent them from revealing her former name, to a mystery person outing her as transgender, and more, exposing the real-life hardships that young trans people must endure as they embrace who they are.

 
The film excels in taking us through the perils of a teenager’s journey from the most basic of indignities to out-and-out threats, othering, and rejection by “family” communities at-large. And yet, we also see the better part of humanity often found in younger people, who haven’t calcified in their fear and ignorance and intolerance. VALENTINA is deeply affecting, sometime heartbreaking, and ultimately reaffirming in its portrayal of that experience.

 
In the interview, we talk about how VALENTINA addresses what could be seen as the more mundane – though no less damaging on a daily basis – affronts and indignities and difficulties transgender youth go through as they simply try to just get by. Cassio also talks about his personal work with his research and on set to ensure he got the details correct, as well as how important the casting of Brazilian You Tube personality Thiessa Woinbackk in the title role and what she added beyond her performance. He also goes through the editing process to capture the right rhythm for the film.