VIDEO : Alice Júnior - Q&A in Berlinale's Generation 14plus & Teddy Award interview

(Surya Amitrano, Thaís Schier, Anne Celestino Mota, © Renato Ogata & Gil Baroni)

By Lindsay R. Bellinger

Brazilian filmmaker Gil Baroni and some of his film team participated in a lively q&a after the screening of their comedy Alice Júnior, which runs in Berlinale's Generation 14plus. The audience was shy at first but pepped up after a bit and opened up an open and supportive dialogue with Baroni, his team and lead actress blogger Anne Celestino Mota. A number of audience questions came from Brazilians who were curious about the film and its portrayal of the life of a young trans woman in school, not just facing obstacles with fellow classmates but also the administration. Alice's supportive family life is centered around her relationship with her caring and attentive father (played lovingly by Emmanuel Rosset), which seems to be somewhat of a trend in world cinema, the daughter-father relationship particularly in a single parent household. I don't always appreciate watching a film or reading a book helmed by a man and whose lead character is a female because it's not often enough that the depiction feels authentic, sometimes overly kitschy or cliche, but with Baroni's film (written by Luiz Bertazzo and Adriel Nizer Silva) one feels a part of Alice's world, a young (trans) woman trying to find her place in the world, after moving with her father to a more rural area. It's not always easy growing up let alone having to make new friends in a new town. 

(Anne Celestino Mota, Surya Amitrano, Matheus Moura, © Renato Ogata & Gil Baroni)

Baroni and Anne Celestino Mota's filmmaking collaboration, as director and main character Alice, really make the film pop and it was one of the few films where the audience appeared fully engaged and nobody walked out of the cinema (which happened more than expected, particularly in some of the Competition films). That says a lot. 

(Alice Júnior team, Gil Baroni, Anne Celestino Mota, © Lindsay R. Bellinger)

The audience was really into the screening and laughed quite a lot, myself included, and it was particularly fun watching two teen girls in the row ahead of me whose reactions enhanced my own viewing experience. They could not get enough of the Alice and story, fully taking in every joke and not missing a beat. It was also wonderful seeing older adult men in the audience (sans children) who enjoyed this coming-of-age story about trans student Alice whose relationships with her father, bullies at school and newfound friends was very touching, full of energy and a full-on cinematic experience. The music selection was quite nice, including some Brazilian musicians who I was unaware of but am very excited about! Alice Júnior's story seems to resonate with Brazilians, as the film already has a planned theatrical release for the summer. Baroni's film is one of 19 Brazilian films, and one of thirteen features, that are being showcased in Berlinale's 70th anniversary year. So far, I have not been let down by any of his countryman/countrywoman's films. 

(Team, Emmanuel Rosset, Gil Baroni, Anne Celestino Mota, Generation head Maryanne Redpath· Feb 27, 2020)

It's a shame that Gil Baroni's schedule was so tight before the screening. I bumped into him and his press agent about forty minutes before his 1:30pm screening at Cinemaxx and we were about to do a short video interview before his scheduled interviewer spotted us and whisked him away. 

“So folks, you know me as Alice Júnior. I’m trans, hard to beat, and ready for whatever there is to be.” 

Here is a conversation that Gil Baroni had with Zsombor Bobák from The Teddy Award team. 

Crew:

Director: Gil Baroni
Screenplay: Luiz Bertazzo
Cinematography: Renato Ogata
Editing: Pedro Giongo
Music: Vinícius Nisi
Sound Design: João Caserta
Sound: Lucas Maffini
Production Design: Bea Gerolin
Costumes: Bettina Martinelli
Make-up: Andréa Tristão
Assistant Director: Adriel Nizer
Casting: Fábio S. Thibes
Production Manager: Andréa Tomeleri
Producers: Andréa Tomeleri, Gil Baroni
Co-producers: Anne Celestino Mota, Luiz Bertazzo, Matheus Moura

Cast:

Anne Celestino Mota (Alice Júnior)
Emmanuel Rosset (Jean Genet)
Thaís Schier (Viviane)
Surya Amitrano (Taísa)
Matheus Moura (Bruno)
Katia Horn (Marisa)
Igor Augustho (Lino)
Gustavo Piaskoski (Guilherme)
Antonia Montemezzo (Manoela)
Marcel Szymanski (Professor Marcelo)