Movie script 2: a “video manifest”

Friday, March 6, 2009

original post

Theme: The Invisible
Title: Behind the World

Argument:
The film “Behind the World” will be a poetic manifest (a film-manifest) about the lack of subtitles in Portuguese in national productions: there are more than 5 million deaf people in Brazil (data from IBGE) who can’t watch the national production for the lack of subtitles in Portuguese. The main theme of the film will be the sentence written by the deaf and already used in many bases as a form of manifestation: “We want subtitles in national films”.

“Behind the world” because there’s also an idea that things are always behind or in front of other things, that is, we always understand things from the relationships established between them. So, the language is itself a fundamental tool which “mediates” the thought: there’s no thought without language. So, in this case, it’s as if subtitles were also something that mediates the relationship between spectator-art work, which is “in front” of a huge world that can be uncovered or not.

Audiovisual Idea:
The idea is to create a film-manifest, in which the before-during-after of an intervention in the streets of São Paulo is the main subject.

The film starts with scenes of national TV programs and films without the audio (in some moments, there is some sounds). After this discomfort, there are images of the group of deaf making an intervention in the city’s streets – posters being hanged in three places: in front of Globo, Conspiração Filmes and in the door of an important movie theater.

In these posters, the young people from Corposinalizante are saying, in Libras: “We want subtitles in national films”. Below the pictures, there’s going to be subtitles in Portuguese, with this sentence, subverting the role of each language.

During the intervention, Alex, a deaf person militant for subtitles in the deaf community, will give some testimonies, looking straight on to the camera, punctuating the urgency of the issue (how many deaf there are in Brazil, since when they are fighting for subtitles in Portuguese, how is the law project about this subject created in 2007 etc.).

In one of the three places chosen we intend to interview some important characters of the audiovisual universe to ask their opinion on the issue and this is developing (or not) as a cultural policy.

Objects:
Scenes of soap operas and Brazilian movies without audio (there are some quick sounds to give contrast).

A group of young deaf people hanging posters in the city’s streets, protesting in favor of subtitles in national films: “We want subtitles in national films”.

A deaf militant (Alex), gives his testimony looking straight on to the camera, putting this urgency of the deaf community into context.

People who pass by during and after the intervention is finished – we will show the reactions, looks, facing the sentence.

Interview with an important character of the audiovisual universe (from Globo or Conspiração).

Specifications of the audiovisual tools:
The film starts with scenes of Brazilian soap operas and films without audio (there are some quick sounds for contrast). We will manipulate these images a little bit. We can’t use the productions’ “climaxes”, but we can make it look as if we were “zapping” the channels.

There are some shots of the streets, city, the group of young deaf people making interventions, the hanging of posters with the saying: “We want subtitles in national films” in the doors of Globo, Conspiração Filmes, e of an important movie theater.

The images of passers-by, who will stop to look, ask will be shot. During the intervention, Alex, a deaf militant for subtitles, will give a testimony looking straight on to the camera (perfomatically/energetically), contextualizing the importance of the fight for subtitles.

(We will find out if there are any important movie festivals happening, so we can choose where is the best “movie theater door” to hang the posters.)

In one of the three locations (either Globo or Conspiração) we will make an interview with someone notable from the audiovisual universe, asking about this demand, about their opinion etc. (the idea is, in the edition, to show this speech’s “bla, bla, bla”, how “potocally polite” it is, also playing with the audio – the audio of their speech comes in and out).

We will research about the developing of the Law Project nº 1.078/2007, which obliges the subtitling in Portuguese in the national production. We intend to put this law in GC form, at the end of the film.

Another interesting passage to put in the end of the film:

Article 215 of the Federal Constitution:
The State will guarantee to all, the full exercise of the cultural rights and access to the sources of the national culture and will support and incentive the estimation and the spread of the cultural manifestations.