BIMIFF #4 - ENG

B I M I F F I N T E R V I E W 48
The script written by Chico Caprario, based on your Cinematographic
Writing, had the supervision of Priest Auricélio Costa and Priest Sérgio
Jeremias de Souza. How did this collaboration occur for the development of
"Albertina"?
The participation of Priests Auricélio Costa (Rector of the Shrine) and
Sérgio Jeremias (Vice Postulator of the Cause of Beatification of
Albertina) was a way of giving security to the Church and getting the
authorization to work with the theme, having in mind that Albertina
Berkembrock is in the process of Canonization in the Vatican, soon to
become the first Brazilian Saint. There was a great concern on their
part that the screenplay might bring with it some element that was
not in line with the official documents that are in the Vatican, so we
committed ourselves to work openly with them so that the film could
become a device to strengthen the process, but in no way was there
any kind of censorship on their part, on the contrary, when they were
present on the set they used to opt for small details in the scenes and
we always accepted them for the good of the film, they were helpful
suggestions that brought knowledge of the cause and were given with
love. An interesting point to think about is that we used a popular
language, this is a period drama that tells the story of a murder,
despite the Catholic theme, it is not a commission from the church,
which consequently broadened the target audience for the film.
"Albertina" film scene
The feature film was based on the work "Albertina Berkenbrock: One Step Away from Sanctification", by the author Albi Israel da
Silveira. How was this adaptation process for the plot that you wrote, and later for Caprario's script?
Initially, I intended to adapt the book by J.J. Hellmann's book, a novel with dialogues, which would have been a much
faster and simpler process, however, when I asked the priest Sérgio Jeremias, he pointed me to the book "Albertina
Berkenbrock: a um Passo da santificação" by Albi Israel da Silveira, considering that the book is attached to the
documents in Albertina's canonization process at the Vatican, however, the book brings in its narrative historical facts of
the time, which generated the need for extensive field research by Chico Caprario, with other biographies and interviews
with Albertina's relatives and folk. Caprario then had to create all the scenes and dialogues within an extremely short
period of 45 days, since our schedule was very tight and we counted on the participation of thousands of people who were
adapting their routines to collaborate with the film voluntarily.
Besides the writing of the project, the partnership between you
and Chico Caprario also extended to the making of the film, as he
was your Assistant Director. How was the dynamic process
between you, from the scriptwriting room to the filming sets?
The partnership with Chico in Albertina occurred when he
told me one day "You should go there in Imaruí and make
this film before they do" in September 2019. The fact is that
when I had the idea to make the film in 2013 when I was the
library manager of the prison in which I was incarcerated I
shared with her my idea of making the film of Albertina with
a third party, I explained the question of popular
participation, about the power of the regional theme and
which book would be adapted. Already in 2014,
after progressing from the regime and being in the
semi-open regime, I could return to the university to
eliminate the pending disciplines and finally graduate,
but on a sad day, I could discover on the Lunch Journal,
on the television in my cell, eating rice and beans with a
plastic spoon, that Albertina would become a Movie, an
extension project of my private university in
partnership with the Producer Mundo Imaginário e\de
Florianópolis. In September 2019 Chico Caprario
nudged me with this phrase: "You should go there in
Imaruí and make this film before they do", and that's
what I did, with no money, we went over the academy
with the moped, the "power emanated from the people"
and the film today is the most awarded in the history of
Santa Catarina cinema.