Portugal’s João Canijo Talks Berlin Diptych ‘Unhealthy Dwelling,’ ‘Dwelling Unhealthy,’ Reveals Subsequent Movie ‘Staging’ (EXCLUSIVE)

Portuguese auteur João Canijo (San Sebastián winner “Blood of My Blood”) has a brace of movies on the Berlin Movie Pageant in 2023. “Unhealthy Dwelling” is in competitors whereas its companion piece “Dwelling Unhealthy” is within the Encounters strand.

“Unhealthy Dwelling” follows 5 conflicted ladies who’re working an previous family-run resort, making an attempt to reserve it from going beneath. The sudden arrival of a granddaughter to this oppressive house stirs hassle, reviving latent hatred and piled-up resentments. “Dwelling Unhealthy,” which performs out just like the reverse shot of “Unhealthy Dwelling,” follows the tales of three teams of visitors in the identical resort with glimpses of what transpires within the first movie.

The genesis of the movies return to “Blood of My Blood” (2011), the place the lives of a household residing within the outskirts of Lisbon are disrupted inside a brief time period.

“‘Blood of My Blood’ was presupposed to be two movies — one from the viewpoint of the mom and the daughter and the opposite from the viewpoint of the aunt and the nephew. The scenes inside the home can be precisely the identical however shot in two totally different factors of view, however I didn’t have cash to do this,” Canijo advised Selection. “With this movie, due to the pandemic, I had time and once I added shoppers within the resort I believed it might be a second movie — simply peeking in on what’s occurring with the household and vice versa.

“The primary level was to disturb the primary plot or the primary story introducing parts of disturbance and participation within the scenes as a result of life occurs round it,” Canijo added. “Like when you’re in a espresso store you possibly can select the conversations you need to hearken to from desk to desk. However the different ones hold occurring on the identical time.”

Whereas conceptualizing “Unhealthy Dwelling,” Canijo discovered himself drawn to the works of Ingmar Bergman and his mentor, the playwright August Strindberg. The playwright’s “The Father” (1887), the place mother and father battle over the way forward for their baby, and “Collectors” (1888), which takes place in a seaside resort resort, served as inspirations for the movie. “Dwelling Unhealthy” is tailored from three Strindberg performs.

The movie is shot in a resort 40 kilometers north of Oporto. When he was a toddler, Canijo’s mother and father used to take him on holidays to a resort. The filmmaker was loath to have a look at the resort once more when location looking and left taking a look at it till the top for concern that “it will not be the identical anymore.” The proprietor of the resort was an architect as is his son ,and Canijo discovered the resort in pristine situation.

The movies’ solid contains Anabela Moreira, Rita Blanco, Madalena Almeida, Cleia Almeida, Vera Barreto, Nuno Lopes, Filipa Areosa, Leonor Silveira, Rafael Morais, Lia Carvalho, Beatriz Batarda, Carolina Amaral and Leonor Vasconcelos, a lot of whom Canijo has labored with repeatedly through the years. The dialogue was improvised throughout rehearsals and used within the movies.

“I get affectionate with them. They perceive me I perceive them I do know completely nicely what they may give me they usually know that they’ll rely on me. It’s turn out to be a household staff,” Canijo stated. For instance, two of the secondary characters in “Unhealthy Dwelling” have labored with Canijo since they had been 15 and 18, respectively.

Subsequent up for Canijo is “Staging.” “It will likely be in regards to the rehearsals earlier than the staging of a theatrical play, tailored from my private experiences,” Canijo stated.

The challenge is being financed and can take two years to start out manufacturing, the filmmaker stated.

“Unhealthy Dwelling” and “Dwelling Unhealthy” are produced by Midas Filmes, with Portugal Movie dealing with world gross sales.

“Unhealthy Dwelling” premieres on Feb. 22 and “Dwelling Unhealthy” on Feb. 23.