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Fernando Mereilles is no ordinary director. Sure he´s got a lot of offers in Hollywood right now because of the two internationally acclaimed movies under his belt, but he has shied away from mainstream filmmaking and has kept to his own way of doing things. I doubt if he´s going to even last in Hollywood which is infamous for eating one´s soul. He has the temerity to even say in one interview that he hates big American productions because as a director it is important to have control over the movie he is making.
But what exactly makes Fernando different? I think what sets him apart is his vision that movies are much more than just entertainment.
Both City of God and Constant Gardener have been shot with a documentary feel to them. I think this is not just a technical decision, I deduce that this is Fernando´s goal: to make them as close to reality as possible because if he could not encourage us to act, at least he could jarr our senses and make us realize that we cannot hide in our comfortable lives to avoid facing our responsibility to our brethren.
Fernando is probably the only director I am aware of, that is still keeping this vision of filmmaking as a cathartic vehicle to instigate change. And he expects that the change must start from him. That is why for every movie that he makes, he does not end them with the final credits. There are two active foundations in the favela of Brazil where he shot City of God and another one in Kenya where he shot Constant Gardener.
What he is asking is not to look away.
Please visit and give your donations to "The Constant Gardener Trust" at www.constantgardenertrust.org.
Article written by Tuesday Gutierrez