Pedro Waddington and Rebecca Diniz’s “Hughes” (“Presisamos Faral”) begins with a horrifying scene. Three teenage cousins harass an unhoused immigrant who is sleeping in an ATM. The consequences of the gruesome act that follow lead to the ethical dilemma at the heart of the film’s debut feature, which was screened in competition at the Huelva Ibero-American Film Festival.
Starring two of Brazil’s most popular actors, Marjoly Estiano (Under Pressure) and Alexandre Nero (Empire), this psychological thriller is inspired by Hermann Koch’s best-selling novel The Dinner and was adapted into a film by Sergio Goldenberg and George Moura for Brazil’s leading production company Conspiração Films. It begins with this shocking crime and chronicles the varied reactions from an even richer mix that includes two sets of parents of the children involved, a middle-class conservative couple, and a politician running for governor.
Speaking to Variety ahead of Huelva, the directors recalled that they first joined the project after Andrucha Waddington (The House of Sand, Vitoria) turned it down due to scheduling conflicts. The veteran then came on board as a producer, and Diniz and Pedro Waddington worked with the writing team to make the existing script “more of their own.”
“It was a bit of an unusual project for a first film, because we needed to borrow enough from the script that it felt like it was our project too,” says Waddington. “The project was also conceived as a hybrid film that would work in both theaters and television, so it came with some guidelines and a specific language. We tried to translate what was on the page into our own language. Screenwriter Sergio was incredibly generous in this process and succeeded in making this film feel like our own and not just a hired gun.”
The directing duo first collaborated on Globoplay’s hit procedural series “Under Pressure,” where they also worked with Estiano and Andrucha Waddington. “Our commitment to this series gave Conspiração the confidence to take on this project,” says Diniz. The director points out that the languages of film and television are becoming increasingly intertwined, allowing creators more flexibility with their projects.
“I think series are increasingly adopting the language of filmmaking. Today you see great film personalities making television because that’s what not only the market wants, but the audience wants,” she added. “I think we need to talk about regulating streamers, but that’s for another time. For now, I think it will be interesting to see how you can use the different languages and formats that are available to you creatively as a director.”
The duo’s work on “Under Pressure” will also influence the tone of “Fuse,” Dinis says. “Our first film, Under Pressure, spoke very much to Brazilian society through the form of a social drama, and Fuse doesn’t stray too far from that idea of movies having a direct dialogue with society. We’re interested in this kind of exploration of depth and humanity.”
Asked how it felt to venture into the genre, Waddington said the film adaptation was already packaged as a psychological thriller, but he decided to gradually move it closer to social satire. “Marjorie’s character brings up these ridiculous ideas as an argument to save her son, and it’s all a little comical. At the same time, it’s also real because people like that on screen exist. Overprotective, aggressive parents, those things exist in the world, so we wanted to mix those elements into the movie.”
The tone of the film lends itself to complex ethical discussions, not only about the crime and its consequences, but also about Brazil’s current political situation. The film nods to Brazil’s post-Bolsonaro political polarization, but never openly addresses the country’s former president and the right-wing rhetoric he adopted that would divide family and friends across the country in the years since his inauguration.
“One of the main strengths of this film is that the argument at the heart of the story is not about left or right,” says Waddington. “It’s not exactly a question of politics, but of the polarization represented by these two families. This political breakdown of the family is still very visible today. When it comes to conflicts between parents, the situation becomes even more uncertain. People stop believing in their own values in order to save their children.”
“When children become involved in crime, ideology loses its place in favor of personal gain and privilege. These tensions between left-wing and right-wing politics play into the backdrop of this great ethical dilemma. There is room for people to really put themselves in the shoes of these characters and think about whether they are being ethical in this situation.” Dinis echoes that idea.
“That in itself is an achievement,” Diniz said of “Fuse” being selected to compete in the Huelva tournament. “It means that we can open a direct dialogue between our work and a demanding and diverse film audience. It is important to bring these conversations about Brazilian society and cinema into the international space, so that we can have an impact beyond the cinema screen.”
“Brazil is having a great moment, winning big at festivals and major awards events,” Waddington added. “It’s great in terms of bringing attention and recognition to our film.”
