Cinema for me is…
Tomás in 23 frames
1. Describe yourself in ten words.
Open-minded; some sense of humor; worried about the world’s state.
2. Your best quality? Your worst habit?
Best quality: Being curious/interested.
Worst habit: Being such an overthinker.
3. Your dream job?
A writer-director and/or an actor.
4. What do you like most about your country?
The landscapes. They are all so different and characteristic.
5. Your favorite dish in your country?
It is not a dish, it’s more of a starter but definitely, Bolo do Caco com Manteiga de Alho.
6. Which word or phrase in your native language do you like the most and what does it mean?
“Quando os porcos bailam, adivinham chuva” = When pigs dance, they guess rain. This expression can be used when something too great is happening that it predicts a bad event afterward. This brings me back to my childhood when adults would tell us (kids) that expression, predicting that we would fall or get hurt when we were euphoric and running like crazy.
7. What European capital have you visited lately?
I have visited Paris a long time ago, but I was really young, so my memory of it it’s not the clearest. However, I have recently traveled to Barcelona, and even though it’s not a capital, it is a city full of life and it’s impossible not to love it.
8. Other than your own, which European country would you love to live in?
Spain, France…
9. What does Europe mean to you? 3 values.
Diversity, Union, Hope.
10. What film made you fall in love with cinema?
I have liked many films before, but The Lobster (Yorgos Lanthimos, 2015, GR) was maybe one of my 1st cinema loves.
11. Your favorite film theatre? What do you like about it?
Cinema da Trindade (Porto, PT) and Phoenix Cinema (Falmouth, UK). For me going to the cinema it’s not only about the film itself, but also about the experience of being in a film theatre and both of these theatres have their own character. It’s almost like they have a personality themselves.
12. Who is your movie hero?
Agnès Varda.
13. Which movie director would you like to be?
Maybe a mixed salad of Pedro Almódovar, Yorgos Lanthimos and, Roy Andersson.
14. Briefly describe your favorite scene.
I don’t know if I have a favorite scene. However, the film A Metamorfose dos Pássaros (Catarina Vasconcelos, 2020, PT), which I watched recently, has some really beautiful scenes, and this is one of them:
There are two boys in a bedroom. The only light available is the reflection of the moon and a flashlight that one of them is using to read a book. Surrounded by the darkness, they start wondering if plants can think and if trees existed previous to their existence. This leads them to a realization that some trees, which are still alive, saw the birth of their grand-grand-parents and for that reason, they will never live as long as trees do.
15. What are the 3 best European films you have seen in the last year?
A Metamorfose dos Pássaros (Catarina Vasconcelos, 2020, PT)
Dolor y Gloria (Pedro Almodóvar, 2019, ES)
Les Glaneurs et la Glaneuse (Agnès Varda, 2000, FR)
16. Which film character do you most identify with?
I identify in some ways with Jamie Fields from 20th Century Women (Mike Mills, 2016, US). I think that my education and the way I see the world were also really influenced by the women around me.
17. Your favorite soundtrack or song?
The soundtrack of the film Her (Spike Jonze, 2013, US).
18. If you had to live in a movie, which one would you like it to be?
The Favourite (Yorgos Lanthimos, 2018, GB). I would like to be the queen’s best friend.
19. Your life becomes a bio-pic. Who plays the role of you?
A queer actor.
20. Which talent would you most like to have?
I would love to know how to whistle songs. I would also love to learn new languages quickly.
21. What is your most treasured possession?
My glasses, I like the fact that I am able to choose if I want to sharply see what’s in a distance, or if I want that unfocused myopic style to it.
22. What do you consider your greatest achievement?
Being part of this program.
23. What is your motto?
A bit cheesy but: Be yourself, live life to the fullest, but always try to be empathetic.