Daniel (Antonio Saboia) is in a desperate place at the start of “Deserto Particular (Private Desert),” but director Aly Muritiba doesn’t let on immediately how hopeless it is he and his sister are prone to arguments over responsibility when there’s little appreciation for the sacrifice that either has had to make and to make matters worse Daniel has been reduced to working security odd jobs after being suspended from the local police force subject to an investigation that has attracted the attention of local TV stations regarding an incident with a trainee that was regrettable no matter what conclusion is come to His judgment may not be the best when he can be seen passing the time by taking nudes of himself and texting them to Sara someone he’s met online yet never in person yet in the promise that there is someone out there that could love him he is able to take refuge from the rest of his life that becomes more and more disappointing by the day As it turns out in “Deserto Particular,” the romance that sets Daniel free threatens to turn into a prison of its own when he finally decides to seek out Sara (Pedro Fasanaro) heading to the north of Brazil where he can only afford the smallest of rooms but somehow it’s even more claustrophobic inside his mind as he chases someone that may not exist and his single-minded obsession could destroy him in ways the world at large can’t even approach Muritiba and co-writer Henrique Dos Santos have far more up their sleeve than seeing Daniel along on his possibly quixotic mission in the drama as one gets to know the person on the other end of the phone shifting perspectives between the characters but by extension broadening the view of the audience as to why Sara feels the need to hide With a deep sense of empathy for both ends of the relationship two lonely souls who can be surprised to make a connection when their tendency is to push all others away the film is able to remove the preconceptions that Daniel and Sara feel have kept them from being accepted and forge as strong a bond as they make with one another through a savvy structure and intuitive and sensitive camerawork “Deserto Particular” became an immediate favorite out of the Venice Film Festival where it snagged the People’s Choice Award in the Gionarte Degli Autori sidebar and was subsequently selected as Brazil’s entry to the Oscars to compete for Best International Feature Muritiba spoke about how he tied the romance to the geography of his home country and was able to draw on his actors’ lived experience to infuse such emotional authenticity into the film as well as how he took his own time working as a prison guard to inform how to bring such a tender drama to the screen How did this come about It’s been a while now that I’ve wanted to tell a story about love and to make a movie that would leave the audience feeling happy When I met the co-writer of this movie Henrique [Dos Santos] we decided to tell a love story and we just had to decide what type of love story we wanted to tell so we came to an agreement that we wanted to tell a love story that was not conventional featuring people that were completely different [than who you would typically see as the leads] and at the same time I also wanted to talk about tolerance and toxic masculinity and explore how men deal with their feelings and how love could have an impact on that I know Northern and Southern Brazil are a bit different and seem to signal an emotional journey as much as geographical distance which is the same place where the story is [set] so these are the two places that are connected to my heart and these were places that not only meant a lot to me but are also very representative of Brazil because they’re very different — their climate is very different the history of colonization is very different and people behave differently and the movie is about in a way how in Brazil which is a huge country with enormous diversity it is still possible to find conciliation and connection and to bridge this difference so it was important for me to use these two locations as a metaphor for that You’ve said before that your experience as a prison guard informed this Did that have anything to do with knowing someone in one way I worked as a prison guard for seven years of my life and that’s an experience that has taught me a lot Perhaps the biggest thing I learned from this was the ability to listen because usually there are twenty unarmed guards for every 1000 prisoners and we have to develop this ability to listen in a diplomatic way to literally save our own lives This need to listen to the other is something that has influenced me as an artist especially listening to people who were in the prison to people whose voices have never been heard or who don’t get a chance to speak very often This especially comes into play when you look at my characters I have a deep respect for the characters I write I try to listen to them and to understand them and I think that’s why they become so complex so this experience has made me a more attentive writer and director and has helped me understand and respect my characters regardless of how different they are from me The camerawork is particularly attuned to the characters you have as well What was it like to shape this aesthetically around their perspective especially the part of the movie that’s shot in the Northeast so the [cinematographer] and I talked all the time and I used to tell him that I wanted to make a tactile movie a movie that would physically touch people The way that a camera worked for most of this was like a dance between itself itelf and the characters and the camera from a formal perspective gets closer and closer to characters as they reveal themselves and open themselves up more to the point where we can feel their skin and we can see their sweat and the details of their faces I wanted to be able to make a movie that would explore their bodies in that way “Total Eclipse of the Heart” plays a huge role in the film and I understand you had to dip into your own pocket to pay for the licensing – why was that song so important to you My first love stories as a teenager were to the rhythm of “Total Eclipse of the Heart” and songs of the ‘80s and ‘90s so it was very important to me in the scene where Daniel and Sara meet it’s connected to a song that evokes falling in love and passion kind of in an adolescent way like I had experienced Daniel was behaving like a teen during that meeting — he looks head over heels in love and I wanted to be able to see myself in that moment It was very important that we would use a song that would bring all of these feelings of passion and falling in love so we ended up having to buy the song out of my own pocket were there any ways this came alive you might not have expected The process with the actors was very creative the actor who plays Daniel is a heterosexual man very much of an alpha male and he found it very hard to understand how his character would fall in love with this woman without realizing that she was a lot more which was very important because it’s the same thing that his character does I was able to use that when shaping his performance the actor who plays Sara is a queer actor and they were able to bring this lightness and sweetness and dignity to Sara that wasn’t originally scripted And in the scene when Daniel is aggressive towards Sara originally in the script her reaction was a lot more of oppression and of hiding and being a lot more fragile in that sense but Pedro told me that “We as a community are tired of feeling oppressed and taking [such abuse] in and not doing anything I am representing an entire community and I’m just not going to obey what the script says.” That experience was incredible for me because we were able to prep the scene and it was a great change that we made that I was very happy with What was the film’s premiere at the Venice Film Fest like Venice was the first in-person screening of the movie and I had only seen the movie in the mixing room so it was the first time I saw it in a movie theater and I had been touched by the movie when we made it but I could not have fathomed just how much it would touch people I go to film festivals all the time — I organize one in Brazil — and I experienced something during the first screening we had in Venice that I have never experienced at other film festivals At the end of the movie when the credits rolled people were standing up and singing “Total Eclipse of the Heart” at the top of their lungs and they were crying and clapping And I think it’s because after we just went through [with COVID] — and still are going through — where we lost people we loved and this was the first time a lot of the audience was in the cinema after all that I think seeing a movie where the characters did literally everything that we couldn’t do – dancing and smiling and falling in love the movie ended up being a freeing experience for everyone It was one of the most beautiful things I’ve seen in a movie theater You must be logged in to post a comment This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. 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Brazil’s official entry at the 94th Academy Awards’ Best International Feature Film category was Aly Muritiba’s Deserto Particular (or Private Desert) The film tells the story of 40 year-old Daniel (Antonio Saboia) on forced leave after excessively violent behaviour travels across the country to search for his internet lover when Daniel questions the neighbours and citizens of Sara’s small town a strange man named Fernando (Thomas Aquino) comes forward with the promise of connecting Daniel to Sara under very specific conditions “It’s a love story that brings together opposites,” says Muritiba in our interview below but then it develops into another kind of love.” Indeed Deserto Particular is a deeply sensitive examination of love and queerness set against a backdrop of toxic masculinity and conservative social ideals Daniel represents the old-fashioned view of what it means to be a man (rough while Sara (later revealed to be a young man named Robson) represents the modern and more emotionally accessible ideas of masculinity “The cold and conservative Brazil of the south the warmer and freer Brazil of the northeast.” Deserto Particular premiered in Venice Giornate Degli Autori where it ultimately won the BNL People’s Choice Award It was up against 92 other countries in the Best International Feature Film category at the Academy Awards Being representative of Brazilian cinema is a moment that isn’t lost on Muritiba: “Brazil has a history of social issue cinema The original script telling the story of a man who falls in love with a woman he virtually knows is by Henrique dos Santos co-writer of the film who invited me to write this story with him Deserto Particular was a drama of discordance as we worked and discussed what kind of emotions we wanted to provoke in people The escalation of hatred in my country has entered since the election of Jair Bolsonaro has contributed to this So I decided to make this movie no longer about how things are Deserto Particular is a film of great affection It’s a love story that brings together opposites but then it develops into another kind of love I would very much like that if someone were to look for my movie in a hypothetical video store they would find it on the love movie shelf But it’s also a movie about masculinity About what it’s like to be “male” in Brazil To grow up as a man in my country is to grow up under the sign of violence All our training as men is based on the imposing use of force and oppression And this is obviously much more acute in the police world So I chose as my protagonist this man educated in violent and heteronormative logic is able to change and become a better person And that’s what I hope the viewer will take with them at the end of the session I honestly don’t know if Daniel will return home or if fulfilling Robson’s grandfather’s destiny he will stay in Sobradinho and become a fisherman he’ll take the consequences of his mistake The film has a long prologue in which we present Daniel’s routine in southern Brazil I spend a lot of time on this so that the viewer can understand what Daniel is running away from and what he is looking for (even if unconsciously) when he decides to leave Without establishing the oppressive background in which Daniel lives it would be impossible to release him at the end of the journey he needed to show how hard and violent his surroundings were and then flood him with affection (something he doesn’t have or know how to express) See alsoWill You Tackle The 100 Movies Bucket List Challenge? My film is a film that brings together two very different worlds that need to learn to coexist It is also about the different Brazils that exist within the same Brazil The cold and conservative Brazil of the south the warmer and freer Brazil of the northeast It is also about the different models of masculinity So I decided that I would split the film into three parts conducted by two protagonists The first part takes on the point of view of Daniel and his loneliness the second with Robson/Sara and his desire to be free and finally a third part about the encounter that transforms them Everything I do I’m listening to music So I wrote Deserto Particular listening to most of the songs that play in the movie When I decided that this movie was going to be a melodramatic road movie I started to think of the songs as commentators on the scenes often the songs are there to comment or add up what the characters say or keep silent It is symptomatic to have a queer movie about love representing Brazil in the Oscars race during the Bolsonaro government Brazil is the country with the highest rates of LGBTQIA+ murders and Deserto Particular appears to offer another perspective another possible world: a sheltering world Brazil has a history of social issue cinema beautifully designed and comes with everything you need to engage your visitors and increase conversions Aly Muritiba’s film is always telling the viewer that death-ness and trans-ness bear the intimacy of Siamese sisters Cinema’s forays into the lives of trans people are almost always marked by a limited understanding It normally involves the binary presumption of a linear which a hot straight cis guy isn’t initially privy to Aly Muritiba’s Private Desert partially overcomes such myopic notions of trans lived experience by portraying the ephemeral trans feminine practices of Sara (Pedro Fasanaro) a blue-collar worker in the northeast of Brazil living as a male only able to indulge in her womanhood online and on the occasional dance floor The rare instances of private and semi-public feminine embodiment are full of joy—the film’s cinematography itself takes on a dreamy sheen when we see her dressed up—but also anxiety What if someone recognizes Sara at the club as Robson behind her make-up and wig And how to sustain her remote relationship with Daniel (Antonio Saboia) the romantic partner who lives thousands of miles away and with whom she exchanges WhatsApp messages all day without having ever met him in person Muritiba’s film initially focuses on Daniel a police officer living in southern Brazil who’s on unpaid leave following a violent incident and who’s obsessed with the beautiful girl on the other side of the screen Daniel is your typically butch heterosexual man with zero emotional intelligence and a repressed stance that stiffens him into a cardboard character It isn’t until Sara shows up that the film snaps out of one-dimensional tedium And she only materializes beyond a fleeting voice in an audio message once she ghosts Daniel triggering him to drop everything and drive from Curitiba to Petrolina Private Desert is hampered by the forced dialogue and acting (apart from the great Fasanaro) that mar so many Brazilian movies pitched as they are either as a soap opera or a gauche imitation of self-important Hollywood drama Muritiba creates a sort of murder mystery atmosphere around his main characters with Daniel plastering Sara’s small town with pixilated copies of her photograph and asking strangers if they’ve seen her Tapping into cinema’s tropes of a murder investigation to make Sara take shape makes it feel like trans desire could only be conjured through sepulchral means Nobody is dead yet by the time Sara and Daniel finally meet but the path toward the trans woman’s manifestation is still shrouded in death and the predictably scandalous revelation of her trans-ness Always the mise-en-scène tells us that death-ness and trans-ness bear the intimacy of Siamese sisters And the man who comes to the trans woman’s encounter already bears the traces of an agent of violence: Daniel is the subject of brutality par excellence as a member of the police academy and he sports a cast on his forearm for most of the film alluding to an enigmatic assault he was involved in is too brutal even for the Brazilian police Private Desert doesn’t escape many of the toxic narrative traditions that have informed depictions of trans woman as an inevitably catfishing bearer of a shocking We may hope all we want for her straight cis counterpart to forgive her for her trans-ness and consummate their love Love between a straight man and a trans woman seems to be as untenable as the sex between them isn’t At the same time, Private Desert is one of the only films to look at what many may dismiss as a “cross-dresser” and see an actual woman, despite the fact that she hasn’t “transitioned,” and probably never will. Cam Archer’s Wild Tigers I Have Known considers its main character a teen pretending to be a cis woman on the phone to her butch high school crush Muritiba’s much more predictable film gives us the dramatic reveal of the trans woman’s genitals that out her unlike Stephen Rea’s character in The Crying Game But Muritiba also allows Sara to have her say afterward and while the breaking of the spell leaves Daniel disoriented Diego Semerene is an assistant professor of queer and transgender media at the University of Amsterdam document.getElementById("comment").setAttribute( "id" "a00332b4b9b6302b7c6a66573031f54f" );document.getElementById("facec42938").setAttribute( "id" and website in this browser for the next time I comment It tells the story of forty-year-old Daniel (Antônio Saboia) who has been suspended from active police work and is under internal investigation for committing an act of violence; a mistake that put his career the truculent Daniel divides his days between taking care of his father a retired ex-military man who suffers from dementia and the virtual love for a woman with whom he has a relationship online: Sara (Pedro Fasanaro) When nothing else seems to hold him back and Sara stops answering his texts he decides to drive to her town Sobradinho (northeast Brazil) going on a journey of over 1500 miles to track her down There he begins an insane search for his beloved asking the residents within the town if they knew of “this woman” by showing them a picture of Sara and putting up posters on the walls His frantic search continued until he received a phone call from a man Fernando (Thomas Aquino) stating that he knew Sara and that he could put the two in touch but under very specific conditions The journey forces the main character (Daniel) to confront his affections and sexuality Private Desert was Brazil’s Oscar nomination for Best International Film 2022 won the Best Film and Best Acting awards for Pedro Fasanaro at Mix Brasil 2021; Best International Film TLVFest 2021 – The Tel Aviv International LGBTQ Film Festival and received the Camilo Award (given to the best LGBTQ-themed feature film) and the Transfusión de Huelva Award at the Huelva Festival – Cine Iberoamericano Best Actor (Antonio Saboia and Pedro Fasanaro) Best Supporting Actor (Luthero Renato de Almeida) and Best Soundtrack at the 25th Edition of Cine PE the film had its world premiere at this year's Venice Film Festival where it won the Audience Award in the Venice Days section Kino Lorber will bring Private Desert to U.S followed by a release on all major digital platforms and home video “Private Desert exemplifies the harmonious balance of personal and formally daring filmmaking we’ve come to expect from contemporary Brazilian cinema,” said Kino Lorber SVP of Theatrical Wendy Lidell “Its thoughtful portrayal of an unexpected queer romance bucks stereotypes while offering an incisive look at the state of masculinity in modern society.” The film director Aly Muritiba spoke to Wsimag about his childhood in a small town with 19 thousand residents called Mairi a woman with strong faith; she is catholic I was raised in a universe of Catholicism and until my adolescent years I was very attached to the youth popular pastoral worked as a truck driver and my mother was a housewife It was a typical childhood of a poor boy from Brazil’s countryside I remember spending the whole day on the streets playing football but I had a unique interest which set me apart from the other boys I enjoyed reading and I spent a lot of time at home reading books Between the ages of fourteen and seventeen by three figures from the Catholic Church: Father João The Brazilian hinterland (Bahia) is predominantly white formed by descendants of Portuguese and Dutch My little town was not different until this black nun arrived Her name was Sister Vana who was also A super revolutionary she dropped out of the sisterhood; fell in love I decided to study history in São Paulo (USP - Universidade de São Paulo) I enjoyed movies when I was younger and spent many afternoons watching movies I never imagined that a movie was something an “ordinary person” could create or achieve I had never stopped to think about filmmaking either When I was 27 years old and already working in a prison (Aly worked as a jail guard - in a prison in Curitiba Parana state - for 7 years) - my brother-in-law was the one who was completely passionate about films He had a super extensive collection of science fiction films from all over the world He completed his master's degree on this subject in fact I remember one day he gave me a script to read which he had written This was the first script that I had ever read and it was a very interesting science fiction script with a very crazy story I never thought that ordinary people could write movie scripts and that stuck in my mind I started doing some and it was at that moment that I had the first contact with partaking in even amateur I was fed up with working there and talking about “crime When a film school was created in Curitiba and it was free of charge I thought to myself: I'm going to take the entrance exam and study cinematography I was looking for another environment and different kinds of people in the hope that they wouldn’t talk so much about guns From 2008 onwards I started to film the first short movie and between 2008 and 2013 I made many short movies called Agente (Agent) it was part of a collective feature film experience Agente was a feature film directed by five young directors from Paraná but in this period from 2008-2013 I was still working as a prison guard and sometimes making films I led this “double” life because what paid my bills was working in the prison and the cinema paid for trips to places I had a very big challenge of finding a suitable actor to play Sara/Robson who is a non-binary and fluid character that performs both the male and female roles I wanted that person/character to be able to comfortably perform both roles I didn't want anyone “pretending” or feeling discomfort towards the role the person who lived these characters needed to be a fluid person too Identifying with the character is key and I didn't want a gay man or woman pretending to be that character; I wanted someone who transitioned well and seamlessly We started looking in the Northeast because this actor or actress needed to be from there a friend of mine who worked on my previous film (Ferrugem) told me about Pedro (Pedro Fasanaro) with whom she had made a workshop at Globo TV She ended up being accepted because it was a series in southern Brazil and she is from Curitiba and he because of his Potiguar accent despite having stood out a lot I wanted to meet him and when I saw Pedro's Instagram I would even say he performs three characters a little more sensitive but who has a touch of masculinity and has to “perform” because he works at Ceasa (a big food marketing) we have the two characters merged and when this character leaves in high heels and tight pants with short hair with the extinction of the Ministry of Culture [the Ministry was extinguished by the current president of Brazil Jair Bolsonaro on January 2 with the Secretariat of Culture trying all the time to paralyze Ancine [the Brazilian Film Agency] that films that deal with non-normative narratives the metaphor of that name is very related to loneliness I don't even need to go to therapy to understand this [laughs] I need to be surrounded by people and feel loved by others For example: during the first three months of the pandemic even in my previous films are always somewhat melancholy In honesty I think that it's part of my nature to reflect on my biggest fear; loneliness and attempt to sublimate it by making films about lonely personages Private Desert talks a lot about loneliness and about the inability that we have to communicate with each other or show emotion Daniel’s first genuine smile is seen after 4 days on the road this speaks loudly about loneliness and the fear of being alone I think the pandemic made us recover a very large community census We only realized how important it was to be together because of this pandemic We were isolating ourselves more and more and more We were maintaining these relationships mediated by mobile phones and video conferencing even before the pandemic and imagining that this was enough to keep us connected The pandemic came to prove to us that what we need is people on our side; skin touching skin that these 010101 algorithms are not enough for us as a species And it was thanks to empathy that we survived as a species We were in a daze and then I think the pandemic isolated us in such a radical way that we started to crave closeness and fortuitous encounters that we previously ignored After we were able and courageous enough to go out (which was possible at the beginning of the pandemic) and have a chimarrão [a typical drink - tea this became the coolest pass-time in the world I think that despite the awful things about this Covid-19 period it also served as an awareness process for those who are sensitive to reality we spent almost two years watching a lot of audiovisual content The first screening of Private Desert in Venice was the first public screening of the film and also the first movie screening for most of the people over there due to lockdown It was something that wouldn't have had the full impact it had if the situation had been different: Pre pandemic Even though I believe the film is very emotional But the reaction from the audience was beyond emotional Daniel's love at this point in the film is romantic love which is love based on your perception of the other It's the love of idealisation and that's why he is so disappointed he would accept whatever presented itself in that moment I've suffered a lot with it when I'm falling in love… I dream with trips A son who will turn 19 and a daughter who will be 14 years old next month who is a great friend of mine and is the mother of my children and I have a girlfriend I think the meeting between Sara/Robson and Daniel has a bit of an eclipse in the beginning Daniel was trying to eclipse the figure of Sara/Robson Failing to transform her into what he idealises he ends up being transformed and influenced by her they are like two celestial bodies that when they aline transform and then like with eclipses the celestial bodies misalign and follow their own trajectories in space Muritiba's films have won more than 200 awards at festivals around the world have been selected by top festival's such as Sundance (Rust His latest feature film Jesus Kid received three awards at the Gramado Festival in 2021: Best Screenplay Muritiba directed: O Hipnotizador Season 2 (HBO) Irmandade (Netflix) and O Caso Evandro (GloboPlay) THE BEST OF THE AMERICAN LATINO & MULTICULTURAL EXPERIENCE The Brazilian production Desierto Particular tells the story of Sara and Daniel Sara is a worker who lives with her born male identity while taking care of her religious grandmother in Sobradinho who is an instructor at the police academy in the southern city of Curitiba is suspended without pay after a violent incident that is all over the news The only thing holding him together is his online relationship with Sara Daniel travels two thousand miles across Brazil to search for her until he gets a mysterious call from someone claiming to know her and asking to meet up What follows is an emotional journey that will change Sara and Daniel forever,” reads the synopsis of Desierto Particular which was selected by Brazil as its official representative in the Best International Film competition at the last Oscars was the winner of the Audience Award at the Venice International Film Festival It has also been screened at other international festivals Desierto Particular features the performance of Antonio Saboia (as Daniel) and the non-binary actor Pedro Fasanaro (as Sara) The film is directed by Brazilian director Aly Muritiba who also wrote the script together with Henrique dos Santos Desierto Particular traverses the regional and political landscapes of Brazil to present a story of love The film hopes to become a declaration of queer love and humanism at a time when LGBTQ+ rights are at risk in every country in the world and has been the most dangerous country for LGBTQ+ individuals for more than a decade The Aly Muritiba production opens on Friday 26 at the Quad Cinema in New York and on Friday THE BEST OF THE AMERICAN MULTICULTURAL EXPERIENCE Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker Writer-director Aly Muritiba said something very interesting about his new film Private Desert in the lead-up to its Venice debut He spoke about a desire for its success to not simply be of the “preaching to the choir” variety who already understands the breadth of love could find something at the core of his love story Muritiba wanted to open the hearts of those trapped under the oppressive force of conservatism and traditionalism This tale of a conflicted policeman discovering his online lover isn’t who he thinks she is possesses the opportunity to connect with those who see themselves in the former Comments about this film using the suffering of LGBTQ characters to help an outsider find redemption aren’t wrong and members of that community have a right to voice their displeasure—especially when so much media does exactly that a cishet man who can only begin to approach understanding their experience through art such as this I do wonder if that sentiment is perhaps too black-or-white Because this is also about a nation whose LGBTQ rights have been dragged back to the Dark Ages It depicts Brazil as two worlds (conservative south and progressive north) yet the recent devolution under Bolsonaro hardly makes either “safe.” Finding security in each other isn’t a small thing That’s ultimately what’s happening between Daniel (Antonio Saboia) and Sara (Pedro Fasanaro) It’s not easily found either considering the recent events that have placed the former on disciplinary leave from his job at his local precinct Muritiba and co-writer Henrique Dos Santos do well to keep what occurred under wraps teasing an unforgivably violent act that’s simultaneously surprising (Daniel seems a compassionate soul caring for his dementia-ridden father and sweetly expressing his feelings to Sara over text messages) and predictable (the rage bubbling beneath his surface is hardly hidden) that increased national coverage of his transgression and Sara’s sudden radio silence can’t be a coincidence Right when Daniel needs her most so he can be vulnerable (he fails to do so with his sister We see Daniel’s desperation while toeing the invisible line between who he could be and who he’s unfortunately become You can blame the discrepancy on many different factors—he’ll reveal some later in the game—but at the end of the day Nurture or not (his father was a “respected” disciplinarian sergeant) he allowed himself to lose his humanity and inflict grievous harm Agreement or not (his superior doesn’t yell at him for what he did but for allowing the phone that captured the incident to be passed around) And a simple apology isn’t enough to correct matters Not if the law condones those actions when kept under wraps Not because the evidence of what he did stares him in the face whenever he looks at his silent father knowing he’d probably be proud of him but because he needs to know if that side of him is what scared Sara away He drives cross-country knowing only her hometown and prints flyers with her photo to see if anyone can connect them You couldn’t blame him for thinking she might have given a false city but he stays long enough to receive a cryptic phone call asking him to meet Fernando (Thomas Aquino) proves a formidable presence until he breaks into a smile upon feeling satisfied that this stranger isn’t going to hurt his friend Sara can then decide to finally appear herself It’s here that Muritiba shifts focus We leave Daniel behind to follow Sara returning home Enter Robson: a young man trying to live his true self in an environment that will not accept him We learn a lot about the character—the duality and heartbreak—all while wondering what might happen considering Daniel’s past How could she watch what he did and not believe that he had the potential to do worse to her upon telling him the full story That’s the problem with technology’s ability to easily connect people from different worlds We fill in the blanks and project our desires Where Private Desert goes from there is what makes it so great to me Muritiba could have leaned into trauma or romance despite both ends of that spectrum inevitably feeling hollow by comparison Other filmmakers surely would have because such extremes sell I didn’t think the film was black-or-white when it comes to using Sara to better Daniel (or vice versa) because Muritiba never lets them be reduced to one-dimensional stereotypes He draws them as equals insofar as their inability to fully embrace who they are away from external forces Daniel sacrificed his heart to follow his father’s example because that toxic masculinity provided him purpose Robson fractured himself into two people to maintain familial connection More than the opportunity to love each other this connection supplies the chance to love themselves That’s obviously reductive for Robson but there’s something to be said about both being trapped under a culture It’s part of why meeting is so scary Daniel is afraid to be vulnerable but knows he can be with Sara Sara is afraid to be with Daniel in real life because of the truths that follow The question is thus whether they can trust the other to be who they need them to be The risk is much greater for her—and I think Muritiba does a good job ensuring that fact isn’t diminished—but it exists for both just the same So many scenes unfold with static frames to give actors our undivided attention letting them evolve emotionally without unnecessary cuts undermining authenticity Saboia and Fasanaro are fantastic—each embodying the complexities of their characters in ways that guarantee we sympathize with them regardless of what they may have done None of this works if we don’t allow Daniel the room to grow And doing so isn’t like flipping a switch Neither is Robson deciding to live his life the way he wants as though there aren’t consequences What happens is neither planned nor perfect means it might just be worth the journey’s perilous uncertainty the other’s strength and love provides a mirror of support Private Desert will be released by Kino Lorber in 2022 Jared Mobarak is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic for The Film Stage, Art Director for Buffalo, NY film series Cultivate Cinema Circle, and member of OFCS and GWNYFCA. You can follow his cinematic viewing habits at Letterboxd Film Review 80th Anniversary Announcement We use cookies to provide you with a great experience and to help our website run effectively None too close to the outside.\u201D - The Aviator (2004) a suspended cop goes in search of a woman he has met online The first thing to be said about this film from Brazil is that what it gets right matters far more than what it gets wrong is unknown to me but he is both director and co-author of the screenplay and is well established in his home country No need then to be surprised at the technical assurance of Private Desert or by the quality of the performances in it the home of Daniel (Antonio Saboia) who has been involved as a training instructor in the local police force while at home he looks after his aged incapacitated father (Luthero De Almeida) with help from his sister Dé (Cynthia Senek) Daniel's treatment of his father shows that he is a caring man but when we meet him he has been accused of assaulting a rookie.Although Daniel acknowledges that he has erred the full details of this incident remain somewhat vague but his situation disturbs him as does the fact that he has lost contact with Sara somebody whom he has never met but with whom he has formed a close bond online Rather than this being merely a sexual connection Daniel realises that he is in love with her so suddenly not hearing back is devastating to him Private Desert devotes its first half-hour to portraying this in an unhurried but very believable way and only then do we accompany Daniel as he leaves home and makes a long cross-country drive to Sobradinho This is where Sara lives and his intention is to find her and to discover why she stopped communicating after their rapport online had been so strong Private Desert is an unusual love story centred on the problems around the relationship of these two and much of it carries the same conviction as is found in the opening segment but with an increasing emotional impact the screenplay having once established that degree of reality takes on a tone that by comparison feels more fictional in the film’s later stages and that is somewhat disappointing To explain why many people will find the film compelling in spite of that means disclosing a crucial plot development one that emerges only halfway through the picture so those who want to be taken by surprise in this respect should stop reading here Admittedly the fact that Private Desert is distributed in the UK by Peccadillo Pictures is a pointer to the film’s crucial subject matter since their films regularly deal with LGBTQ issues What Daniel discovers when he eventually finds Sara is that he has fallen for someone who is non-binary but in daily life Sara is Robson and is concealing the fact of being gender fluid How Daniel will respond to this totally unexpected discovery becomes central to the film along with the pressure put on Robson once his situation is fully apparently to his grandmother (Zezita De Matos) and to the pastor of the church where he worships with her (Sandro Guerra) As indicated above I found that the greater drama of the film’s last quarter suffered from some of the dialogue sounding artificial and from some of the situations appearing contrived given that the material could have been handled in an exploitative way and also that it could have had a self-consciously propagandist air in line with the extreme divisiveness currently inherent in trans and gender issues Muritiba’s film by taking things quietly and sympathetically hits exactly the most useful note while Saboia and the supporting cast headed by the excellent Thomas Aquino do well the stand-out performance despite this being his film debut comes from Pedro Fasanaro who is indeed non-binary the love of the central couple is portrayed with real sensitivity and strength and nowhere is it more compelling than when they dance together and the music that accompanies them is Bonnie Tyler’s ‘Total Eclipse of the Heart’ Yet that downside is to be found again when far less tellingly this song is used a second time as the end credits roll it's the earlier scene that you remember and viewers strongly drawn to the subject-matter will either forgive or disagree with my reservations.Original title: Deserto Particular.MANSEL STIMPSONCast: Antonio Saboia Screenplay Aly Muritiba and Henrique Dos Santos Pro Des Fabíola Bonofiglia and Marcos Pedroso Pandora Filmes/Muritiba Filmes/Grafo Audiovisual/Anacoluto/Fado Filmes-Peccadillo Pictures.121 mins FilmReviewDaily@gmail.com © 2015 - 2025 FILM REVIEW. 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Advertise on Cineuropa Logos and Banners VENICE 2021 Giornate degli Autori by Vittoria Scarpa 10/09/2021 - VENICE 2021: This new film by Brazilian director Aly Muritiba tells the story of an impossible love in a chauvinist and homophobic rendering of Brazil This sentimental drama dressed up as a road movie sees its protagonist discovering an unspeakable side of himself and successfully holds viewers’ attention by way of a healthy dose of suspense a woman met in a chat room but never met in person since she lives on the other side of the country is always at the centre of Daniel’s (Antonio Saboia) thoughts a police officer suspended from active service for assaulting a new recruit far more on his mind: the trial that awaits him for example (which has even made it onto the news) a former soldier who no longer talks and who now needs round-the-clock care The first half of the film follows Daniel through his grey day-to-day life who wants to move their father into a care home and who The only person who can make Daniel smile is Sara with whom he exchanges messages and photos on his mobile the woman suddenly stops answering her phone and vanishes Daniel decides to climb into his car and heads off towards the North and travelling three thousand kilometres in the hope of finding her And it’s here that the director seems to want to start his film rolling the opening credits roughly half an hour into the movie Daniel plasters the small town where Sara lives with posters featuring her photo hoping that someone will recognise her and tell him where she is We see who Sara really is and we enter into her daily and double life Daniel has tracked his beloved down by phone and asks to meet her with increasing insistence Private Desert is the story of an unexpected encounter which calls one man’s certainties into question before gradually helping him to reconnect with himself and his emotions an impossible relationship which sees two souls suspended between love and hate but it’s also a meeting between two distinct worlds: the cold and conservative South of Brazil All of this is tackled with great delicacy and shored up by intense acting performances (Pedro Fasanaro stars alongside Antonio Sabola) resulting in a finely balanced film which questions the concept of personal freedom and the burden of the cages we erect in our own minds Private Desert is produced by Brazilian outfit Grafo Audiovisual, in co-production with Portugal’s Fado Filmes. International sales are in the hands of Intramovies Please subscribe to our newsletter to receive more stories like this directly in your inbox "If you open your mind, it's possible to love in another way" VENICE 2021: The Brazilian director presents his new film about a policeman desperately travelling in search of his lover, whom he met via internet chat and who is no longer replying to his messages   In this Brazilian-Portuguese co-production directed by Aly Muritiba, a man sets off in search of his internet love interest after she goes missing   27/08/2021 | Venice 2021 | Giornate degli Autori European countries reveal their titles submitted for the Best International Feature Film Award at the 2022 Academy Awards   18/11/2021 | Oscars 2022 Samuel Theis’ coming-of-age drama has won the International Competition, Small Body was victorious in Meet the Neighbors, and Magnetic Fields won the >>Film Forward section   15/11/2021 | Thessaloniki 2021 | Awards VENICE 2021: Monica Stan and George Chiper-Lillemark’s movie is crowned the winner by the 27 Times Cinema jury, while Californie wins the Europa Cinemas Label and Private Desert, the Audience Award   11/09/2021 | Venice 2021 | Giornate degli Autori/Awards VENICE 2021: This new film by Brazilian director Aly Muritiba tells the story of an impossible love in a chauvinist and homophobic rendering of Brazil   10/09/2021 | Venice 2021 | Giornate degli Autori A new location and films to get audiences talking are on the cards for the 18th edition of the Venice Film Festival’s independent, parallel section, unspooling 1-11 September on the Lido   28/07/2021 | Venice 2021 | Giornate degli Autori The fifth edition of the market, which helps fiction, documentary and VR projects secure funding as part of the Venice Production Bridge, is due to take place from 31 August to 2 September   02/07/2018 | Venice 2018 | Industry 02/05/2025goEast 2025 Review: My Magical World 30/04/2025Films / Reviews – Italy Review: San Damiano 30/04/2025Hot Docs 2025 Review: King Matt the First 29/04/2025Films / Reviews – Italy Review: Storia di una notte 29/04/2025Films / Reviews – Peru/Spain Review: Kayara. La guerrera del Imperio Inca 29/04/2025Hot Docs 2025 Review: Supernatural Subscribe to our newsletter to receive the most important daily or weekly news on European cinema Cannes 2025 Marché du Film AFCI runs its second annual Global Film Commission Network Summit at Marché du Film Festivals / Awards Czech Republic Czech Republic’s Anifilm goes sci-fi Distribution / Releases / Exhibitors Europe European Arthouse Cinema Day set to return on 23 November Cannes 2025 Marché du Film Indie Sales presents a three-star line-up at Cannes HOFF 2025 The Shadow and U Are the Universe win at Estonia’s Haapsalu Horror and Fantasy Film Festival Crossing Europe 2025 Awards The New Year That Never Came and The Flats crowned at Crossing Europe Cannes 2025 Marché du Film Be For Films to sell Love Me Tender in Cannes Cannes 2025/Sponsored Latvia set to shine bright at Cannes, led by Sergei Loznitsa’s competition entry Two Prosecutors Las Palmas 2025 MECAS/Awards Manuel Muñoz Rivas and Joana Carro win awards at the eighth MECAS Cannes 2025 Marché du Film Playtime to present some high-impact and entrancing trump cards at Cannes Production / Funding Italy Shooting begins on Walter Fasano’s Nino, a portrait of scoring maestro Nino Rota goEast 2025 Market TrendsFOCUSA busy spring festival season awaits the European film industry. Cineuropa will continue to keep its readers up to date with the latest news and market insights, covering the buzziest events, including Cannes, Kraków, Karlovy Vary, Tribeca, Hot Docs, Annecy, Brussels, Munich and many others Distribution, Exhibition and Streaming – 02/05/2025Slovak crime-thriller Černák becomes the highest-grossing film in domestic cinemasThe second film in the saga about a local mafia boss, directed by Jakub Króner, outgrossed its first part, which dominated Slovak cinemas last year Animation – 30/04/2025Mirko Goran Marijanac • Media sales executive, DeAPlaneta EntertainmentDuring our chat, the exec shared key insights from this year’s Cartoon Next and touched on the current climate for the animation sector Jaśmina Wójcik • Director of King Matt the First The Polish director discusses her approach to taking on a 1920s children’s literary classic in an unexpected way Želimir Žilnik • Director of Eighty Plus The Serbian director discusses his deep suspicion of ideologies in relation to his irresistibly charming latest feature, which follows a man whose life spans three political systems Paulina Jaroszewicz • Distribution and marketing manager, New Horizons Association Cineuropa sat down with the Polish distributor to discuss her company’s strategy as well as the connection between its distribution line-up and BNP Paribas New Horizons Festival’s programme Lorcan Finnegan • Director of The Surfer The Irish filmmaker discusses his mystery-thriller, how he created the character with Nicolas Cage and his approach to the use of colours in the film Privacy Policy The images used on this website have been provided by journalists and are believed to be free of rights if you are the owner of an image used on this website and believe that its use infringes on your copyright We will remove the image in question as soon as possible We have made reasonable efforts to ensure that all images used on this website are used legally and in accordance with copyright laws About us | Contact us | Logos and Banners Mission | Partners | Team | Donations | Terms and conditions NFS: And how did you all meet and become involved in the project NFS: What kinds of conversations did you both have about the interior life of your character you said you had been trying to get this film made for five years What happened during the process of development what was the process of taking it to production there are a lot of silences and long takes with observations of human behavior It contrasts directly with the first part of the film NFS: What do you think that young people should be most cognizant of or concerned about regarding their relationship to technology For more, see our ongoing list of coverage of the 2018 Sundance Film Festival Working as a second unit director is one of the best ways to level up to being a director Working as a second unit director is an important stepping stone in the film industry for those aspiring to direct their own features We all want to be bona fide directors on a Hollywood set, but most of the time, you have to pay your dues. One way of doing that is by working as a second unit director. But...what is a second unit director These filmmakers are the masterminds behind necessary sequences all while the primary director is busy elsewhere making movie magic with the stars of the project and the benefits of taking on the role on a film set The second unit director often takes on the responsibility of shooting all the film's less important shots, such as B-roll Like the director of the film is the head of the first unit crew a second unit director heads the second unit and manages the production parallel with the first unit This person works closely with the director of the film to keep visuals and symbolism in continuity while shooting independently with their own limited crew If you direct the second unit, you are responsible for maintaining the director's voice and vision A second unit director should always remember that although suggestions are always appreciated it’s not their vision in the making— they are there to bring someone else’s idea to life a second unit is part of the plan from pre-production Second units are standard components of most medium to large film productions If you’re trying to level up into a second unit director Anybody who is up for the job can become a second unit director—it doesn’t require any formal degree I've seen my 1st ADs become the second unit director for crisis control while the 2nd AD takes over responsibilities on the main set individuals with directorial experience are hired for the role So, if you have a good directorial portfolio, you can easily pitch yourself as the second unit director in any film. If you’ve been a 1st AD, been an assistant director, or have been directing your short films or indie features for a long time now, absolutely consider leveling up to the position of second unit director on a mainstream Hollywood project and gradually make your way to the directorial title for your own film I believe a second unit director is like a wild card entry opportunity in anybody’s directorial career Where else can you learn crisis management better than on a film set that is falling apart Or even if you have been hired from pre-production I’ve deleted the word “impossible” from my dictionary this is where you can prove yourself before the right people Focus on delivering quality material and bang on deadline Show people that you know the craft and can deliver in the most stressful situations Take the added opportunity to show the producers and the rest of the crew how easy you are to work with The film industry values “the vibe” more than the talent will work with many crew members and talent both on and off set You’ll also get access to more “exclusive rooms” to work closely with the other decision-makers of the unit take the opportunity to make yourself visible interacting with people is imperative to building your network try to build meaningful professional relationships with people with the potential to help you with your projects in the future You might come across a gifted music director or a gifted actor human resources are more important than you might realize You might also leverage a connection for a new work opportunity A second unit director’s work might feel daunting to take up It’s one of the quickest and most effective ways to prove to the world that you are ready for your own film don't burden yourself with setting a shining example every single time Daniel (Antonio Saboia) finds himself stuck in a rut after being suspended from his job as a cop following an incident that left a colleague in a coma he spends his days looking after his ailing father and exchanging messages with a woman called Sara (Pedro Fasanaro) that he meets online Daniel impulsively sets off to track her down but what he’s about to find isn’t what he expects ‘Private Desert’ is a film from writer and director Aly Muritiba set in Brazil Much of the film’s first half focuses on Daniel a man whose life is crumbling around him and all he has to hold on to is the ‘relationship’ he’s been enjoying via his smart phone Unsure if he’ll ever be able to return to work Daniel goes through the motions every day acting as the carer to his father and maintaining a fractious relationship with his sister who seems happy to leave the care of their father to him It's when Daniel goes off in search of Sara that things start to get interesting the film switches from Daniel’s perspective to Sara’s the boy she was born as and the society around her expects her to be Sara is forced to live as something she innately doesn’t feel she is her relationship with Daniel is pure escapism the issue is that Daniel has no idea that Sara is transgender and that inevitable reveal is treated with a fairly heavy hand Daniel’s reaction while understandable from the point of view that he’s been deceived feels a little out-dated in a world where we’ve come to understand and treat people better That clunky reveal undoes part of the film’s work to this point and it doesn’t add anything to the already unhelpful narrative that exists around trans people On the acting front Antonio Saboia is perfectly fine as Daniel giving a brooding performance but able to peel back the layers of his character when necessary Pedro Fasanaro gives a far more nuanced performance and their storyline as Sara is far more engaging The two actors share some intense scenes together but both would have benefitted from a stronger script that stayed away from exhausted tropes Extras on the release include a making of featurette an interview with Muritiba filmed in Venice and a short called ‘The Factory’ from the director but it doesn’t really add anything particularly positive to the transgender discussion Daniel’s behaviour is largely predictable and a push for a happy ending feels far-fetched given the story that builds to the climax I appreciate what Muritiba was trying to do but giving the perspectives of both Daniel and Sara muddies the waters for the viewer Cast: Antonio Saboia, Pedro Fasanaro, Thomas Aquino, Zezita Matos Director: Aly Muritiba Writers: Henrique Dos Santos & Aly Muritiba Certificate: 15 Duration: 116 mins Released by: Peccadillo Pictures Release date: 14th April 2023 (Peccadillo On Demand), 24th April (DVD & On Demand) Buy ‘Private Desert’ now Purchases through these links may result in us earning a commission* Choose which of our mailing lists you want to subscribe to You have successfully subscribed to our newsletter Choose which of our mailing lists you'd like to subscribe to © 2024 Entertainment Focus | Terms & Conditions | Privacy Policy