Synopsis
Fernando Pessoa is synonymous with poetry. Besides being a poet, he was also a philosopher, playwright, translator, publisher, critic, business correspondent and - plot twist - screenwriter. But the films he wrote were never produced. “The Idol” is the first one, a short film directed by Pedro Varela and entirely shot with the new Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G.
Fernando Pessoa
Although it is one of his least well-known facets, Pessoa also wrote for the cinema. The book “Argumentos Para Filmes”, by Pessoa researchers Patrício Ferrari and Cláudia J. Fischer, published by Ática in 2011, brings together six of his scripts, such as “Note for a thriller, or film”, for example, which was used to produce “The Idol”. In those same manuscripts, Fernando Pessoa expressed his will to create the production company ECCE Film to produce his own films. That wish has now also been fulfilled.
Pedro Varela
Among his most important works are the series “Os Filhos do Rock”, the remake of the classic “A Canção de Lisboa”, the series “Esperança”, which recently premiered, the campaigns “Can’t Skip Us” and “Tu Podes” for Turismo de Portugal and the global phenomenon “Andrà Tutto Bene” with Cristovám. His latest feature film, “The Seven Sorrows of Mary”, was filmed in Rio de Janeiro and should be released later this year. Now he has written the screenplay and directed what is the first film of one of his idols: Fernando Pessoa.
Cast
Warning: in this film, no-one is who they appear to be.
Mick Greer
Bernard
Long-standing Secretary of Albert Soares. He has spent his life serving him and is completely loyal to him.
Tiago Felizardo
Augusto Sotto
Eccentric, vain and a bon vivant. He has a mission: to bring Albert Soares’ Idol safely from New York to Sintra.
Ana Vilela Costa
Emily Nogueira
Writer and Augusto Sotto’s fiancée. She has just published the novel “A Breath of Life”.
João Gaspar
Américo Oliveira
Discreet and honest. He is also traveling on the Europa transatlantic, but in economy class.
Chris Murphy
Mr Williams
He introduces himself as an English businessman. But in truth he’s a Secret Service agent. Or maybe not!
Miguel Cunha
Mário Guerra
We know he’s employed on the ship. Other than that, everything about Mário is a mystery. Even his moustache.
Paula Magalhães
Ofélia
Young, seductive and astonishingly beautiful. Especially in the eyes of Augusto, her lover.
Soraia Tavares
Blanche Calloway
A jazz singer. She’s American and is traveling to London, where she’ll be giving a concert with her band.
Soren Hellerup
Captain Moore
Captain of the Europa. He’s German and a real gentleman.
Miguel Freire
Pierre Croix
A man of letters and an intellectual. He’s a journalist and writes for Le Temps, a French daily newspaper.
Ivo Alexandre
Padre Thomas
An Irishman who carries with him the word of the Lord. But even so, doesn’t seem to resist the charms of the Idol.
Cátia Nunes
Adelaide
Maid in Albert Soares’ house and girl Friday of his secretary, Bernard.
Mick Greer
Albert Soares
A tycoon and mysanthropist, the real owner of the Idol and the brains behind the game. We never see him, but he’s always there.
Behind The Scenes
The Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G and Pedro Varela in action.
Making of
What's it like to make movies with a smartphone? Epic.
See how Pedro Varela made the Galaxy S1 Ultra 5G features the other characters of "The Idol".
Chapter 1:
Director’s View
The madness of the 1920s and the concert of Blance Calloway & Her Joy Boys, filmed on several scales at the same time.
Chapter 2:
Super Steady
The persecution between Augusto Sotto and Mr Williams, the fast camera movements and the super steady.
Chapter 3:
8k
The aesthetic of an era, the wardrobe details, make-up and costumes, the landscapes and architecture, all with epic definition.
Trivia
Spoiler alert! If you haven’t yet seen “The Idol”, scroll down while you can.
ECCE Film
This was the production company that Fernando Pessoa planned to set up to produce his films. That’s why “The Idol” couldn’t be made without it. The original logo designed by Fernando Pessoa himself is on all the film’s promotional materials and on the opening credits.
Bernard & Albert Soares
The forename of the first and the surname of the second are actually a reference to Bernardo Soares, one of the better-known heteronyms of Fernando Pessoa, author of the renowned “Book of Disquiet”. The name Albert, on the other hand, comes from Alberto Caeiro, another heteronym of our poet.
Ofélia
The more attentive people will have understood the origin of the name of this character. She’s inspired by Ophelia Queiroz, Fernando Pessoa’s only known girlfriend. But more forward.
Blanche Calloway
Blanche isn’t just a character. She’s a tribute to a real woman, a jazz singer from the 1920s, the older sister of Cab Calloway and the first woman to lead an all-male jazz band.
Painting
The oil painting that we see in Albert’s office confirms that he and Bernard are the same person. Or rather, heteronyms. After all, why would Albert have a painting of his secretary? But there’s another evidence and that’s always been hidden on this website: the name of the actor who plays the part of Albert, that is, Mick Greer, is written in black in the cast.
Holdall
It’s only at the end of the film that we realize that the real Idol travelled the whole time with Américo in economy class. But that plot twist is revealed right at the beginning. When we see Américo running to the ship, he’s carrying a small brown holdall, which is exactly the same as the one handed over to August at the museum where the Idol was exhibited. Coincidence? Not really.
Sound Films
When Fernando Pessoa wrote this script, sometime in the 1920s, films were still silent. “The Jazz Singer”, from 1927, was the first sound feature film. But some of his scripts, texts and ideas for cinema already contemplated dialogues. Once again, Pessoa was ahead of his time.
SS Europa
The transatlantic ship where our characters are travelling also existed. It was built by Norddeutscher Lloyd and sailed the New York - Southampton route. It has now been rebuilt in 3D for “The Idol” by Clan VFX of São Paulo, Brazil.
Chalet Biester
The story behind the chalet where Albert Soares lives is shrouded in mystery and incidents that until now, no-one has been able to explain. Built at the end of the 19th century, the only time it was used to stage a cinematographic production was in 1999, for a film by Roman Polanski, starring Johnny Depp in the lead role (“The Ninth Gate”).
Locations
Cinema is also about doing magic. So, despite “The Idol” having scenes in New York and taking place mostly at sea, the filming was all done between the Gil Eannes hospital ship, in Viana do Castelo; the Chalet Biester, in Sintra; Hotel Avenida Palace, Hotel Pestana Palace, Rocha do Conde de Óbidos and Teatro Nacional D. Maria II, in Lisbon.
