An exclusive interview with João Moreira Salles – Part 1 + 2

Here’s the first part (with English subtitles) of our interview with João Moreira Salles, the director of Santiago (2007), Entreatos (2004), Nelson Freire (2003) and Notícias de uma Guerra Particular (1999).

In 1992, Mr. Salles began shooting a film about Santiago, the butler in his childhood home who left an indelible mark upon the family. Santiago was an educated man who, in addition to his work, produced some 60,000 pages of stories documenting his surroundings as well as tales of aristocratic lifestyles, including that of the house in which he himself served.

Through his personal voice-over, Salles sheds light on his family and childhood, and on the reasons why the film took so long to complete. The result is an elegant mosaic with two parallel narratives, dealing with universal topics such as memory, identity, and documentary filmmaking.