Today we’d like to introduce you to Aline Andrade.
Aline, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Starting from the middle, I’m a producer/writer/director who used to be an actor. Every decision I made felt like uncovering the deeper truth about what my goals really were. So far it has led me to produce my scripts and scripts that I find have something special and will make a difference in the current cultural landscape. I say I’m in the middle but it constantly feels like starting over. Every project I decide to take on I realize there is something new to learn.
I don’t particularly like this artistic wave we are living: the capitalization of personal traumas. It’s true on some level that a story or a character comes from the creator’s life experiences, and I certainly write and produce material that is personal to me. But I prefer to let stories live and not tell anyone what is true and what is not. If you watch something I have produced independently, don’t ask me. I’ll never tell.
I moved to LA to be discovered as an actress, and when that didn’t happen after 12 months, I applied like crazy to producing jobs and I worked on a bunch of great productions as an associate producer, archival producer, and producer. I gained a lot of skills in development, writing, pitching, talent booking, interviewing on camera, and post-production legal clearances.
I had a Film and Media Arts BA and some producing experience so I was able to build on that, but it was a huge learning curve.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I think I used to be more hopeful and confident before I moved to LA. LA broke me a little. I think it’s a cliché, but it’s true: this business is very difficult for someone starting from nothing. And if you have a sensitive or artistic nature- which is the case of a lot of us here- you are going to get worn out. You will have scars from trying to become someone.
I worked with great people and some not-so-great people. But in reality, I learned that how great they were was not the point; the point was: how did I improve myself in each situation? Was I brave? Did I stand my ground and act confidently to demand respect respectfully? Or did I fall apart and burn bridges that were not meant to be walked on anyway, but I could have lived better without setting the fire?
One event that still makes me angry: the first year I was in LA I was doing actor showcases where agents and managers come to watch monologues and find new actors to represent. I had a meeting with an agent from a mid-size agency and he offered me representation. He immediately went on to ask me out multiple times. When I turned him down, he withdrew the representation offer. When I called the agency, they had a lawyer on the call and told me there was no contract so I shouldn’t call them anymore. That was six years ago. #Metoo was in full swing, but there was nothing I could do.
In my view at the time, I thought I needed to pivot- fast. So producing felt like a more tangible goal. Each show I worked as a producer was very different from each other. My portfolio as a “hired producer” was kind of all over the place, which I actually like, but LA likes to “know” where to fit you in and leave you there. So, when I took a look at what I actually wanted to do with my career, I looked at my multiple scripts and treatments and I thought, I need to build a space where this can live and be weird in peace.
That’s how Fine Frenzy Films came into existence. It was just a piece of paper first, then a bunch of files in my Google Drive, then a website, then the ideas became pitches and pitch decks, and finally, movies. It feels like magic, but it’s really hard work associated with some mad believing in things that don’t yet exist. Actually, that’s where Fine Frenzy comes from Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”:
The poet’s eye, in fine frenzy rolling,
Doth glance from heaven to earth, from earth to heaven;
And as imagination bodies forth
The forms of things unknown, the poet’s pen
Turns them to shapes and gives to airy nothing
A local habitation and a name.
The concepts in those lines have a depth I can’t talk about. I don’t have the words; I am no poet. So I make movies.
Yes, a strategy is good when you arrive in LA for work, but I suppose the best thing you can pack with you is a brilliant portfolio of screenplays or other work you might do because there is no way around it: you will be knocking on doors and going to parties you don’t want to be in.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am very proud of my accomplishments this past year. I faced a lot of demons to come out with two short films that are very personal to me.
Starting Fine Frenzy Films created a space where I placed my work and started building around it. I am super proud of this decision because I gave myself structure to build. I feel like I am rearranging and finding out what the company is about all the time. All based on the scripts I am either writing or collaborating to produce. All of the abstraction and frustration I felt for years were funneled into this endeavor.
Macumba: A Family Folklore is a short film I shot in Brazil. I needed to get to the root of my creativity and it made sense that the first story that came out fully formed was a story based on a “folklore” in my family.
It explores the notion that religions and cultures really worship the same gods and saints but give them different names. In the film, the Catholic faith and the Umbanda Afro-Brazilian religion clash through the events in the life of a 12-year-old girl. I think it turned out a little sentimental, but I was testing the truth because I hide how emotional I am a lot. I am happy with what I learned making this movie, and I am writing the feature film treatment and looking for Brazilian and Afro-Brazilian culture fans in the business.
“Aureo & Mirele” is the story of a Brazilian immigrant in Paris looking for a place to perform. Aureo is a professional ballet dancer and has had a wild journey facing racist and economic obstacles in Brazil. When he decided to move to Paris to start again, I saw this could be inspiring. It was a story I pitched to director Filipe Galvon because I saw one of his movies and I was astonished at his sensitive and clear style.
Both films are doing really well in festivals and I am building a lot of bridges.
Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
Time makes me happy. Having time to think and work on projects is a precious gift. Whenever I see a long stretch of time ahead of me that I have no plans, no place to be, that is when I feel truly happy. I suspect that means that I enjoy developing, writing, shaping a story and pitch deck more than anything else.
I feel proud when the movie is wrapped up and going out into the world, but I also feel anxious, so it’s not nearly as joyful as being in the middle of the work. And that is where I am with two very personal feature film projects I am working on.
“Lucy is going to Hell” follows a teenage girl on the run from her polygamist family. The year is 1994 and she is heavily influenced by the music that she secretly listens to. She thinks these songs are messages from God. One of the first magical coincidences that happened to me was to find a Nirvana cover album by Joy Autumn. Her magical versions of the songs helped me find the tone for Lucy’s coming-of-age road-trip story. After telling Joy what the film is about, she and I decided to collaborate and I can’t wait to see what happens with this movie.
“Coming to Jesus” is a story about a late bloomer millenial coming home after having massively failed in her career and having to move back to Florida to face her Brazilian family, latino community and Mormon church. She is a prodigal daughter who felt like she was always on the fringes of a community that never accepted her and now needs to give herself a Come to Jesus to take full responsibility for her life. Gabriela Lima and I are joining forces to produce “Coming to Jesus” and that has made all the difference. She is an energetic presence and her experience brings amazing potential for this production.
I am in the middle of it all and that’s the biggest lesson for me as a filmmaker that has taken so many directions. You just keep going. Take a break, look around when necessary, but keep going. I keep finding that what makes me happy is always the creation of things.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.finefrenzyfilms.com
- Instagram:@finefrenzyfilms
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fine-frenzy-films/about/
- Other: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aline-andrade/
Image Credits
Aline LABRFF 2023: Raul Batista Aline Headshot: Elaine Torres
