Queens World Film Festival / Festival de Cine y TV de Leon 2019 – Equinox
Somewhere on the outskirts of Tokyo, whenever the days are as long as the nights, love loses yet another battle.
Interview with Director Bruno Carnide
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
I started studying cinema in 2008 and, a few months later, I was already directing a small movie. The kind that we are all ashamed to show but that, in fact, without which, I would maybe not be here today. I could be a better or worse person, more or less successful, but I wouldn’t be the person standing here now. Everything we do transforms us and takes us in a certain direction. Well, but that isn’t important now, the important thing is that without that 2008 animated movie, most likely, all the other movies I made after it wouldn’t have existed and, in particular, this one: Equinox.
From 2008 until today, over ten years have passed. And this time interval has in common the simple fact that I haven’t directed animation again, until now. Equinox comes, therefore, from that thirst that I allowed to dry up, and that now, ten years past, hasn’t dried up completely, since I felt the need in me to direct animation once again.
And, from the moment I thought about directing an animation, a Japanese movie was be the most obvious and maybe the most personal choice, too. My mother’s family has Japanese traits, and I don’t run away from them. And maybe that’s why Japanese culture has always interested and fascinated me so much. I’ve always heard stories around the house about my great-grandfather on my mother’s side. In fact, my great-grandmother never revealed the name of my grandmother’s father, but later, we found out that, probably, she was the fruit of a passionate relationship with a lost (or deserted) Japanese soldier in Portugal during the First World War, and that, later, disappeared, dishonored. This film is, therefore, a tribute to my Japanese ascent and to my great-grandfather that I never met.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
You should watch it because it is mysterious, compelling, and the ending is a surprise.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
As I told you in my first answer, this film is very special to me and very personal. Yet, I do not tell my own story, I tell a different one. The one I think it could happen if I lived in Japan.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
A very positive one.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
It had been many years since I've made my last animation film, and with all these positive feedbacks so far, I guess I've made a great choice.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
Being able to get to know more people in the industry, and have them interested in my film.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
Film Festival Directors
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
As a different way to tell a story. For many years I've been trying to run from the usual narrative and trying to find my own voice and way to tell a story. Like a signature.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
What can happen in a usual evening in the outskirts of Tokyo?
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
I'm working on closing my three chapters short film shot in Super 8, and in another new film, this time a feature one.
Interview: April 2019
We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series, music video, women's films, LGBTQIA+, POC, First Nations, scifi, supernatural, horror, world cinema. If you have just made a film - we'd love to hear from you. Or if you know a filmmaker - can you recommend us? More info: Carmela
Equinox
Somewhere on the outskirts of Tokyo, whenever the days are as long as the nights, love loses yet another battle.
Length: 3:20
Director: Bruno Carnide
Producer: Bruno Carnide, Cátia Biscaia, Eduardo M. Escribano Solera
Writer: Carlos Salvador
About the writer, director and producer:
BRUNO CARNIDE (June 16, 1987, Leiria – Portugal), graduated in Sound and Image – from the School of Arts and Design of Caldas da Rainha – is an independent director since 2008, and founding director of the International Short Film Festival: Leiria Film Fest, since 2013. Carnide directed several fictional and documentary short films, which won a dozen awards and have been exhibited in more than 100 film festivals around the world. Working currently as a freelancer, Bruno Carnide has directed hundreds of corporate, advertising and music videos, and is, occasionally, teacher and speaker in the field of cinema and judge in short film festivals.
Key cast: Kana Sugai, Taca Saunder
Looking for: film festival directors
Facebook: Equinox
Instagram: @brunocarnide
Hashtags used: #equinoxshortfilm #equinoxbrunocarnide
Website: brunocarnide.com
Other: IMDb
Made in association with: Mailuki Films
Funders: Self-funded
Where can I watch it next and in the coming month? Speechless Film Festival/Minnesota, United States - 30/03/2019; Festival de Cine y TV de Leon/Leon, Spain - 3 to 18 May, 2019; Indie Lisboa/Lisbon, Portugal - 2 to 12 May, 2019.