Among the most hyped titles from Animation! from Ventana Sur, Factory Over the Hill, by Lucas Abraão and Ricardo Kump, brings multi-award-winning Brazilian writer JJ Veiga to the big screen for the first time.
“JJ Weiga is an exceptionally imaginative and exciting author, and it still remains a mystery to me why his work has never been adapted to the screen. His portrait of Brazil’s rural heartland is unparalleled and we are committed to doing justice to his vision,” said Abrahão, adding that some of Veiga’s stories may have been adapted for television but never made into a film.
“His style is very atmospheric, bordering on horror, and our cinema has very few settings. These are located in the most beautiful settings in central Brazil and far from our urban centers, truly “in the middle of nowhere.” Since he wrote most of his works during the military dictatorship, they also contain many allegories of authoritarianism,” Abrahao said. Diversity.
“Although Veiga does not like to be identified as a ‘magical realist’ author, it is easy to see the connection between his work and that of writers like Julio Cortázar and even Gabriel García Márquez,” Abrahão continued. The tone of Veiga’s writing sets him apart.
“He wrote very clearly about very strange things. And this combination can be very cinematic, so the lack of adaptations is very strange,” he thought. “Our goal is to bring the Brazilian countryside to life through animation, a unique visual style that uses collage and painting techniques to faithfully represent the world of Veiga,” Kump said. motion graphics, music videos and movies. His short horror film Cactus earned him numerous awards around the world.
Inspired by JJ Veiga’s short story of the same name, The Factory Over the Hill explores the turmoil in a remote Brazilian village when mysterious strangers arrive to build a factory. With curiosity and determination, a pair of teenagers set out to discover the true intentions of the newcomers. Their efforts pit them against powerful intruders, testing the limits of bravery, but revealing society’s silent acceptance of change and their own internal struggles.
The animated film was produced by LPB Content and Lucas Pellegrino Bonalumi of the Spanish company Noon Films. Based in São José do Rio Preto, São Paulo, LPB Content has produced three live-action feature films and currently has two more in the pipeline. Along with Vitrine, it also distributes Teca & Tuti: a night at the library, the most watched animated film in Brazil this year. “Factory Over the Hill” will be his first animated film.
Barcelona-based Noon Films has been developing and producing documentaries and animations for the past 15 years. They recently won an Ibermedia Next Development grant for their interactive animation project “Dangerous Journey: Pepi’s Story”.
