Loveling
Description
Irene, the mother of four boys, is thrown onto an emotional quandary when her eldest son, an expert athlete, is recruited to play for a German handball team. Little triumphs like Irene getting her GED butt up against her family’s economic challenges and the grief she faces at her eldest son’s impending departure. With nuance, humor, and great warmth, real-life married couple Gustavo Pizzi (co-writer, director) and Karine Teles (co-writer and star) collaborate to paint an unforgettable portrait of the joys and pains of motherhood.
“The first pangs of empty-nest syndrome hit the devoted, exuberant mom at the center of Loveling, a captivating portrait of the joys and aches of family life. Karine Teles brings ferocious warmth and humor to the lead role, in essence playing the opposite of her perfectionist upper-class character in The Second Mother (Festival 2015). Without pandering to audience sympathy, she creates an exceptionally sympathetic focal point for a story that embraces the messy tenderness of life as it’s lived.” – Sheri Linden, The Hollywood Reporter
“Brazilian director Gustavo Pizzi crafts a warm and wonderfully universal love story that comes across surprisingly unconventional for something so familiar, if only because it focuses not on youthful passion (that more popular of screen subjects) but the full range of emotions a middle-aged mother feels toward her family.” – Peter Debruge, Variety
On April 7th, ASL interpretation will be provided for the introduction and Q&A.
A graduate of Universidade Federal Fluminense in Rio Di Janeiro, Gustavo Pizzi made his directing debut in 2006 with Simple Past in 2006, followed by his first narrative feature Craft in 2010. The path to Loveling started with Pizzi’s contemplation of that moment when his own children will leave the nest, leading him to ask his parents about their feelings when he left home at 16. “I asked them, ‘How was that moment for you guys?’ They didn’t say much, they just said, ‘It was hard.’ But I could see that there was a whole story in their minds about what happened that day. That moment made me feel certain that I had to make this movie.” (Remezcla)
Trailer
//player.vimeo.com/video/258419236Film Details
Language Portuguese
Year 2018
Runtime 98
Country Brazil/Uruguay
Director Gustavo Pizzi
Producer Tatiana Leite, Gustavo Pizzi
Writer Gustavo Pizzi, Karine Teles
Editor Lívia Serpa
Cinematographer Pedro Faerstein
Music Daniel Roland, Maximiliano Silveira, Pedro Sá
Cast Karine Teles, Otávio Müller, Adriana Esteves