Burcu Beaufort:<\/b> Your traveling schedule must be wild since the premiere of your film The Secret Agent in Cannes this year.<\/p>\n
Kleber Mendon\u00e7a Filho:<\/b> I\u2019ve been all over the place the last two weeks, visiting France, Spain, Zurich, and Los Angeles. The day after tomorrow I\u2019m heading to Mexico. But I\u2019m not complaining. I\u2019m happy. I miss home, the kids and Emily, my partner. We\u2019re going to be seeing each other in Mexico. Yeah, it\u2019s a little crazy.<\/p>\n
BB:<\/b> You have kids?<\/i><\/p>\n
KMF:<\/b> Two kids.<\/p>\n
BB:<\/b> You guys are living in Recife, Brazil, right? This is actually the city you grew up in, your childhood city?<\/p>\n
KMF:<\/b> Yeah, that\u2019s where we live.<\/p>\n
BB:<\/b> The city of Recife plays a major role in your work, often serving as a backdrop and sometimes feeling like one of the \u201cmain characters.\u201d How does that come about? Is it more of an exploration for you, or a way to show the world your city? Perhaps a reflection of your own admiration?<\/p>\n
KMF:<\/b> I think it\u2019s very natural. That\u2019s where I grew up and that\u2019s where I live. That\u2019s where I have my life. And it\u2019s only natural that I should make films there. It\u2019s like a filmmaker from Berlin making films in Berlin, no?<\/p>\n
BB:<\/b> I am not sure it\u2019s natural. I think it\u2019s very different for many different people.<\/p>\n
KMF:<\/b> Yeah, but look at the films of Almod\u00f3var, for example. You look at Women on the Verge of <\/i>a Nervous Breakdown<\/i>(1988) and Tie Me Up, Tie Me Down<\/i> (1989) and The Flower of My Secret <\/i>(1995), they\u2019re all Madrid based.<\/p>\n
BB:<\/b> Yeah but also look at Werner Herzog.<\/p>\n
KMF:<\/b> Yeah, but that\u2019s Herzog, you know (laughs)<\/i>. Spike Lee, Woody Allen, Scorsese; all shoot mostly in New York. Recife is just where I live. It doesn\u2019t mean that one day I might make a film in France or in the United States.<\/p>\n
\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"images","gallery":[{"ID":123718,"id":123718,"title":"Screenshot 2025-11-04 at 1.26.54\u202fPM-min-min","filename":"Screenshot-2025-11-04-at-1.26.54\u202fPM-min-min.jpg","filesize":323132,"url":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Screenshot-2025-11-04-at-1.26.54\u202fPM-min-min.jpg","link":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/de\/article\/a-conversation-with-kleber-mendonca-filho\/screenshot-2025-11-04-at-1-26-54-pm-min-min\/","alt":"","author":"1","description":"","caption":"","name":"screenshot-2025-11-04-at-1-26-54-pm-min-min","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":123715,"date":"2025-11-04 12:47:24","modified":"2025-11-04 12:47:24","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1150,"height":482,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Screenshot-2025-11-04-at-1.26.54\u202fPM-min-min.jpg","thumbnail-width":128,"thumbnail-height":54,"medium":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Screenshot-2025-11-04-at-1.26.54\u202fPM-min-min.jpg","medium-width":1150,"medium-height":482,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Screenshot-2025-11-04-at-1.26.54\u202fPM-min-min.jpg","medium_large-width":1150,"medium_large-height":482,"large":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Screenshot-2025-11-04-at-1.26.54\u202fPM-min-min.jpg","large-width":1150,"large-height":482,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Screenshot-2025-11-04-at-1.26.54\u202fPM-min-min.jpg","1536x1536-width":1150,"1536x1536-height":482,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Screenshot-2025-11-04-at-1.26.54\u202fPM-min-min.jpg","2048x2048-width":1150,"2048x2048-height":482,"trp-custom-language-flag":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Screenshot-2025-11-04-at-1.26.54\u202fPM-min-min.jpg","trp-custom-language-flag-width":18,"trp-custom-language-flag-height":8,"wpvr_mobile":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Screenshot-2025-11-04-at-1.26.54\u202fPM-min-min.jpg","wpvr_mobile-width":1150,"wpvr_mobile-height":482}}],"settings":{"fit_width":"6","caption":"Courtesy of Cinemasc\u00f3pio \/ SBS Productions \/ Detailfilm \/ Lemming Film.\r\nThe Secret Agent (2025), dir. Kleber Mendon\u00e7a Filho."}},{"acf_fc_layout":"text_area","text_area":"
BB:<\/b> Films that take place in a very specific place can sometimes get political or controversial, no matter what the filmmaker intends. Since your work often engages with Brazil and its realities, have you ever faced, or do you expect, reactions like \u201cThis isn\u2019t the Brazil we know,\u201d or \u201cThis is not our culture\u201d?<\/p>\n
KMF:<\/b> No. Brazil is essentially a modern democracy, so my films have never become controversial for thematic reasons. About ten years ago, Brazil took a turn to the right, which led to the election of a president who is now about to go to jail. So when the right came into power, Brazil went through a moment of democratic turbulence, and that involved a very negative and aggressive way of looking at artists and culture, which is classic of fascist-leaning governments. So I did go through some unpleasant moments as an artist, but it was only because the far right was in power. They seemed to be afraid of culture and artists. Now that Bolsonaro is not reelected and he’s about to go to jail, things are back to normal. My film, which hasn’t opened in Brazil yet, seems to be very well received there. We\u2019ve been screening it in special screenings, and I don\u2019t see any controversies. The Secret Agent<\/i> is not really about a dictatorship, it\u2019s a reconstruction of a time period. So I don\u2019t think anybody would question my take on the \u201970s. It\u2019s quite generous, despite being violent and tough.<\/p>\n
BB:<\/b> Why did you choose that period? What is so specific about it?<\/p>\n
KMF:<\/b> Well, the first thing is that I remember some of the \u201970s. I was nine at the time. And that\u2019s an important starting point, because one thing is, I mean, I could have done a film in 1956, but I wasn\u2019t born in 1956. I could maybe research and look for bits and pieces in history books, however it\u2019s not the same thing. I remember 1977. I remember the cars, the clothes, and the smells. I remember school, where we were told to march every Friday because it was the military regime. Ridiculous. Imagine making little kids march like soldiers. So these are the memories I have. They gave me the confidence to sit down and start writing the script, but that is only one part of the story. As I was working on my documentary film called Pictures of Ghosts<\/i> (2023), I spent a number of years looking at old archives. That reconnected me with many memories from the past. Many of the memories that I reconnected with were mine, others were my parents\u2019. Others were things that I had heard about and (while doing the documentary) I had them in front of me, in newspapers or in films or in television reports. All of that gave me the emotional basis to say \u201cI think I can write this script in the right way<\/i>\u201d. Because it\u2019s quite easy to do a period film, all you have to do is just get old furniture and old cars, but that\u2019s not really the whole point. It really has to do with people and the feeling.<\/p>\n
\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"images","gallery":[{"ID":123719,"id":123719,"title":"Screenshot 2025-11-04 at 1.27.10\u202fPM-min-min","filename":"Screenshot-2025-11-04-at-1.27.10\u202fPM-min-min.jpg","filesize":236807,"url":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Screenshot-2025-11-04-at-1.27.10\u202fPM-min-min.jpg","link":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/de\/article\/a-conversation-with-kleber-mendonca-filho\/screenshot-2025-11-04-at-1-27-10-pm-min-min\/","alt":"","author":"1","description":"","caption":"","name":"screenshot-2025-11-04-at-1-27-10-pm-min-min","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":123715,"date":"2025-11-04 12:47:39","modified":"2025-11-04 12:47:39","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1022,"height":430,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Screenshot-2025-11-04-at-1.27.10\u202fPM-min-min.jpg","thumbnail-width":128,"thumbnail-height":54,"medium":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Screenshot-2025-11-04-at-1.27.10\u202fPM-min-min.jpg","medium-width":1022,"medium-height":430,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Screenshot-2025-11-04-at-1.27.10\u202fPM-min-min.jpg","medium_large-width":1022,"medium_large-height":430,"large":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Screenshot-2025-11-04-at-1.27.10\u202fPM-min-min.jpg","large-width":1022,"large-height":430,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Screenshot-2025-11-04-at-1.27.10\u202fPM-min-min.jpg","1536x1536-width":1022,"1536x1536-height":430,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Screenshot-2025-11-04-at-1.27.10\u202fPM-min-min.jpg","2048x2048-width":1022,"2048x2048-height":430,"trp-custom-language-flag":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Screenshot-2025-11-04-at-1.27.10\u202fPM-min-min.jpg","trp-custom-language-flag-width":18,"trp-custom-language-flag-height":8,"wpvr_mobile":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Screenshot-2025-11-04-at-1.27.10\u202fPM-min-min.jpg","wpvr_mobile-width":1022,"wpvr_mobile-height":430}}],"settings":{"fit_width":"6","caption":"Courtesy of Cinemasc\u00f3pio \/ SBS Productions \/ Detailfilm \/ Lemming Film.\r\nThe Secret Agent (2025), dir. Kleber Mendon\u00e7a Filho."}},{"acf_fc_layout":"text_area","text_area":"
BB: <\/b>How does your writing process work when developing a script? How do you let the story take shape?<\/p>\n
KMF:<\/b> When you look at Dona Sebastiana in the film, she\u2019s not just an old lady. She\u2019s a woman who carries a lot of life in her, a lot of personal history. I think she\u2019s a wonderful human artifact. She is brave. She’s natural. She\u2019s dry but loving. She is many things. So I think, that\u2019s when you begin to find characters like that, that\u2019s when the script just keeps moving forward and you really believe in the script. So it\u2019s really tough to explain how the script was put together, because there are so many different elements. My memories of filmgoing as a little kid are very strong for me. I had the opportunity of recreating a filmgoing experience back in the \u201970s, because we stillhave the S\u00e3o Luiz Cinema, which is intact. It\u2019s just the way it was. And it\u2019s also a character in the film.<\/p>\n
BB: <\/b>In the movie, you reference Jaws (1975) by Steven Spielberg. We see a little boy who desperately wants to see it but isn\u2019t allowed. Am I right in thinking this was actually your own experience?<\/p>\n
KMF:<\/b> Yeah, because I could not see the film for many years, because the film was rated 14+. And I was fascinated by the poster. It\u2019s a great poster. I had nightmares about it, and I only saw the film in 1983 when I was a teenager. I saw it on VHS. Jaws<\/i> (1975) is a very important film. It\u2019s a landmark in the \u201970s. I come from a city which has beaches, and we have a real shark problem. So all these things together, they work as an idea in the script.<\/p>\n
BB: <\/b>How does it feel to have won both Best Director and Best Actor at Cannes? It\u2019s not every year that a film receives both awards.<\/p>\n
KMF:<\/b> (Shows two thumbs up)<\/i> I was very happy because I love Wagner (Moura) and his work in the film. I was very happy for him. And then I went backstage with the Dardenne brothers. At some point they said \u201cThere\u2019s something happening there, maybe you should go back.<\/i>\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n
BB:<\/b> You didn\u2019t expect a second award?<\/p>\n
KMF:<\/b> No, I expected nothing. (laughs)<\/i> I was having champagne.<\/p>\n
BB:<\/b> The Secret Agent is Brazil\u2019s submission for the Oscars. Your first feature, Neighbouring Sounds (2012), which was also Brazil\u2019s submission, did not receive a nomination. Do you think your chances are stronger this time, and how does greater recognition or being more widely known affect that?<\/p>\n
KMF:<\/b> I think what we\u2019re doing in our lives is, hopefully, that we will be adding experience to what we have done. When we begin, we are not known and we just have to show what we can do. Then you do one film, and then you do the second film. If the second film adds to the first film, we\u2019re all good, and then we move on to the next film. (Shows his phone)<\/i> Just last night I posted this very simple post. I just did this collage of four posters of my previous works. People reacted to it very strongly, and then I realized, people really think that one film leads to the next film.<\/p>\n
BB:<\/b> Last question, How was The Secret Agent<\/i> shot? Digital or analog?<\/p>\n
KMF:<\/b> We shot it digital, with very old anamorphic Panavision lenses from the \u201960s, but a very modern German Alexa 35 camera which has a great sensor. The combination of the camera and the lens looks beautiful. I\u2019m very happy with the photography in the film<\/p>\n"}]},"yoast_head":"\n