05/02/2008

Marco Martins, one of Portugal's most promising filmmakers, got back behind the camera last Saturday to film the first scenes of his anticipated second feature, How to Draw a Perfect Circle.

Martins, who made a splash in 2005 with his critically acclaimed debut Alice [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Marco Martins
interview: Nuno Lopes
film profile] (see Focus), here chooses to focus on a coming-of-age tale that he co-wrote with emerging local award-winning author Gonçalo M. Tavares.

Unafraid of controversy, the film tackles the subject of incest between a 13-year-old brother and sister, twins, but is also, according to the director, a "love story about socially established borders, the loss of innocence and the new technologies that have innovated the way adolescence is currently experienced by creating new territories for escape".

The initial idea for How to Draw a Perfect Circle is actually related to new technologies. When Martins saw images on YouTube of a teenager drawing perfect circles freehand, he decided that it would be a good starting point for a story and also a metaphor. "By following the sentimental adventures of these twins, we ourselves can draw a map of social borders, of everything that is forbidden and taboo," he said.

Produced by Pandora da Cunha Telles (Producer on the Move 2005) for Filmes Fundo, How to Draw a Perfect Circle stars Rafael Morais and Joana de Verona in the leading roles, along with Beatriz Batarda (The Murmurian Coast) and French actor Daniel Duval as their parents.

The cast also includes Catarina Mira, Lourdes Norberto, Gonçalo Waddington, João Pedro Vaz and a special appearance of the teenage rock band Tiny Masters of Today.