Welcome, Violeta! (Bem-vinda, Violeta!), the second feature film from Brazilian director and writer Fernando Fraiha, produced by Rodrigo Teixeira (Call Me By Your Name, The Witch, The Lighthouse), and written by Fraiha and Inés Bortagaray (Invisible Life) is set to have its World Premiere in the Narrative Feature competition at the 2022 edition of the Brooklyn Film Festival, taking place in person and online from June 3rd –12th in New York City.
Based on the novel Mountain Range by Daniel Galera, Welcome, Violeta! stars renowned Argentine actor Darío Grandinetti (Talk to Her; Rojo) as Holden, the charismatic leader of a writing residency set deep in the towering Argentine Andes mountain range. The film tells the story of Ana (played by Brazilian actress Débora Falabella), a young woman eager to complete her novella Violeta at the well-known "End of the World" literary laboratory.
Over the course of her stay at the remote residence, Ana becomes more and more familiar with Holden’s idiosyncratic methods that require the participating artists to abandon their own identities and live emotionally and psychologically as their characters. Captivated by her artistic investigation, Ana immerses herself wholly into the method and starts living as Violeta, until her fiction loses control.
Referencing the director’s own experiences as a young person entrapped by a cult-like artistic community, Welcome, Violeta! deftly explores the nuanced intersections of creativity, vulnerability, personal identity, and the potential for emotional and ideological coercion when one surrenders fully to their craft. With stellar performances by Falabella and Grandinetti set alongside spellbinding cinematography and sound design, the psychological thriller brings together a team of internationally-renowned industry players from Brazil and Argentina and confirms Fraiha as a talent to watch in the director’s seat.
Comments