Matheus Farias, Enock Carvalho • Directors of The Riverbank
“We want to craft bold stories that emerge from the reality of our country, but we also want to have fun making them”
- The Brazilian directors talk about the power of cinema as a weapon against conformity, the catharsis of showing bodies that are different and the importance of having fun no matter what
Brazilian directorial duo Matheus Farias and Enock Carvalho talk about their latest film, The Riverbank, which has just won the Special Jury Prize in the International Competition of the Locarno Film Festival.
Cineuropa: Your film openly criticises the unhealthy relationship between the evangelical churches and political power. How important is it for you to put forward alternative narratives and images that challenge the prevailing conformity?
Matheus Farias, Enock Carvalho: It is very important to us because we are mainly interested in those narratives that are not the usual ones. In Brazil, we have endured some very difficult years, with Bolsonaro and the right wing taking power, but Brazil is a very complex country, especially because of the role of religious power in politics. For us, it was very natural to write this story and direct the film because it is part of us. We really wanted to tell a story in which the boundaries between freedom, the body, desire, politics, power and faith are challenged. That is what we think cinema should do. We wrote the script during some of the hardest years Brazil has experienced since the dictatorship. The country gave us a lot of material to work with. We experienced many things that eventually found their way into the script. In a way, the movie is a reflection of the country and of what we see happening around us, particularly in the way politics and religion affect our LGBTIQ+ community. But that is only the starting point. There is a whole story being told within that context. We want to craft bold stories that emerge from the reality of our country and deal with the subjects that matter to us, but we also want to have fun making them. We believe cinema should always be able to tell compelling stories while also addressing issues that mirror our reality.
Speaking of which, it's important that the film shows the LGBTIQ+ community not only as marginalised or struggling, but also as a space for joy and life-affirming attitudes.
MF, EC: Absolutely. It was very important for us to allow our characters to have fun. People often expect the LGBTIQ+ community to be constantly struggling with things. And of course, we do struggle, but that is only one part of life. We have ordinary lives. We have fun, we feel desire, we have friends, we meet people, and people come into and pass through our lives. All of that is part of being alive.
Another very important element in the film is the body. What was behind your decision to show all of those different, beautiful bodies so prominently?
MF: The Riverbank is, in many ways, a film about bodies and about the power that tries to control those bodies. The movie itself is a statement championing freedom in relation to the body, to desire, to identity and to ways of life. In the feature, we see bodies that exist at the margins; they are clandestine bodies, in a sense. It was important for us to explore how Izaquiel's body experiences different spaces. His body is constantly responding to the spaces around him, and of course, the mangrove is a space where bodies can react in a completely different way. It becomes a space of freedom, experimentation and other kinds of feelings. Throughout the film, we see Izaquiel's body gradually gaining power. He becomes more able to confront what is happening, and we can see that transformation in the actors' performances.
Jeremias is also a very particular kind of man. He has a real physical presence, but there is something almost supernatural about him, an energy surrounding him.
MF, EC: Jeremias is very much inspired by stories we have in Brazil connected to nature, rivers and indigenous peoples. It was very natural for us to conceive this character as someone connected to the mangrove, the river and the darkness. He hides in the forest. In a conservative society, this becomes a way of living and surviving. Jeremias is inspired by Brazilian mysticism, and we love this character precisely because of that mixture of magical realism and reality. What happens in reality is that these legends and myths, particularly those originating from indigenous and black communities, are often criticised by conservatives, which is something that should not be allowed.
The film is difficult to categorise. Was this mixture of genres part of your intention?
MF, EC: We started writing this story mainly as a drama, and little by little, it became something much more complex. Different genres gradually cross-pollinated one another. We love the fact that you cannot easily categorise the film. It is a queer movie, and perhaps that is exactly why it can contain all of these different elements.
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