Cinema for me is…
Alexandra in 23 Frames
1. Describe yourself in ten words.
The books I’ve read; the people I love; this place.
2. Your best quality? Your worst habit?
I like to learn and to cultivate my intellect, so I’m quite interested in a lot of subjects. I usually prefer the conceptual over the practical and sometimes it leads me to do nothing at all.
3. Your dream job?
Filmmaker.
4. What do you like most about your country?
The kindness of our people.
5. Your favorite dish in your country?
In Portugal, there are hundreds of dishes with codfish and I never find it cloying. Maybe my favorite one is “Bacalhau à Braga”.
6. Which word or phrase in your native language do you like the most and what does it mean?
“Piripaque”. It’s a popular expression that means malaise.
7. What European capital have you visited lately?
London.
8. Other than your own, which European country would you love to live in?
Czech Republic.
9. What does Europe mean to you? 3 values.
Proximity, culture and mobility.
10. What film made you fall in love with cinema?
Persona (Ingmar Bergman, 1966, SE).
11. Your favorite film theatre? What do you like about it?
Cinema Trindade. It’s very cozy and they always have great films on show.
12. Who is your movie hero?
Moonee, the main character of The Florida Project (Sean Baker, 2017, US).
13. Which movie director would you like to be?
Andrei Tarkovski.
14. Briefly describe your favorite scene.
I don’t have a favorite scene. The last one I watched that made me truly smile was from John From (João Nicolau, 2015, PT). A 15-year-old girl is shuffling songs on her iPod while strongly closing her eyes. I knew that she was asking things in her mind and wishing the title of the song could give her the answer she wanted to have because I was doing that at her age.
15. What are the 3 best European films you have seen in the last year?
Lazzaro Felice (Alice Rohrwacher, 2018, IT)
Climax (Gaspar Noe, 2018, FR)
Chuva é Cantoria a Aldeia dos Mortos (João Salaviza, 2018, PT)
16. Which film character do you most identify with?
I tend to identify with some characters played by Anna Karina in Godard’s films, mostly because she says “je ne sais pas” a lot.
17. Your favorite soundtrack or song?
The soundtrack of Alice (Marco Martins, 2005, PT), composed by Bernardo Sassetti.
18. If you had to live in a movie, which one would you like it to be?
Before Sunrise (Richard Linklater, 1995, USA) definitely.
19. Your life becomes a bio-pic. Who plays the role of you?
Anna Karina.
20. Which talent would you most like to have?
I would like to be good at sculpture, maybe.
21. What is your most treasured possession?
My diaries.
22. What do you consider your greatest achievement?
As I’m a student, I feel fulfilled anytime I have great grades.
23. What is your motto?
“All the things I know but of which I am not at the moment thinking.”, Robert Barry.