“Insurgência Pahana” · Animation Project · 2023

#

• University of Brasilia
• Role: Head Writer · Project Coordinator.

Plot breakdown

#

Jayst, a prince of the shunned Moogaft nation, stands accused by the most powerful leaders of the galaxy—the Pahana Sisters—of murdering the king of the warrior nation of Matto. As he endeavors to clear his name, he learns that the accusation is merely part of a ploy by the Sisters to seize control of the entire galaxy. Some key points of the story are the following:

• Four nations battle over sovereignty and total control.

• Bastears: a secretive nation that worships the planet Moogaft. Formerly enslaved by the Pahanas, under the leadership of Queen Araian, it has become the second most powerful nation in the galaxy.

  • Bastears inhabit the planet Bastear.
  • They harbor resentment toward Moogafts for inhabiting the planet sacred to their religion.
  • Engaged in a cold war against the Pahanas.
  • Allied with the some Mattos.

    

• Pahanas: lead since time immemorial by the Imala family, Pahanas went from a poor nation suffering with scarcity in the cold regions of the planet Boul to the military superpower colonizing many planets. Pahanas are bound by a code of beauty: their appearances and mannerisms define their social capital; a long and symmetrical horn can turn a peasant into a nobleman.

  • Historical trauma turned this nation into a ruthless superpower.
  • However, the nation remains divided. On one side are Imala loyalists supporting the Pahana Sisters, while others are skeptical, finding the official account of the former king’s death and the disappearance of the former heir apparent—the Sisters’ father and older brother, respectively—a bit too convenient.
  • While in prison, Jayst discovers the heir apparent, Prince Netis Imala. This discovery initiates a series of events that will become the Moogafts’ sole opportunity to avoid being conquered by the Sisters.

• Mattos: a kingdom divided. Inhabiting the harsh planet of Hakast, red Mattos live in the citadel of Gautto while non-reds are abandoned to fend off for themselves against the dangerous drakios, reptilian predators dominanting the planet. In battle, Mattos are a formidable force, and no nation dares confront them one-on-one.
  • In ancient times, Mattos were a prosperous nation that controlled the resources of the planet Boul. After the planet collapsed, they were forced by the Pahanas to stay in Hakast. Discussions about this historical event would later be suppressed by the Pahana government.
  • King Kaluanã and his wife Queen Manya—red and non-red, respectively—represented, for a time, a focal point of national unity. The king’s assassination and the subsequent rejection of the queen by the reds meant the formation of new tensions between the two halves of Matto society.
  • For a moment, Kaluanã and Manya were able to reach an accord with the Pahana government and the Mattos enjoyed sovereignty over their people. Now, the Sisters exert ruthless control over what they deem to be an inferior nation.

• Moogafts: Pahanas who underwent rapid mutation on the radioactive planet of Moogaft. The harsh environemnt forces many inhabitants to replace affected body parts with technologically-advanced prosthetics. The planet is isolated, prompting numerous individuals to abandon it for a nomadic life. Known for piracy and contraband, Moogafts face significant prejudice from other nations.
  • “Princes” aren’t leaders in the traditional sense, but members of revered clans with a cultural obligation to work for their nation’s interests.
  • The Pahanas’ most reviled historical figure is also the Moogafts’ founding father, Neil Imala—who is believed to be alive (and is!), despite disappearing centuries in the past. His wheraeabouts will reveal the secret origin of the Bastears.
  • Although the Pahana Sisters believe Jayst’s imprisonment is part of their plan, Queen Araian of the Bastears is actually the one who secretly orchestrated the event. The first season delves into her strategy to seize control of the Pahana government.

“Per²o” · Movie Treatment

#

• University of Brasilia
• Role: Writer.

Monster hunter creature feature in the 1860’s Paraguayan War.

“Per²o” is an action horror set in the devastated border between Brazil and Paraguay during the War of the Triple Alliance. The Brazilian Catholic priest Pero Todeschini wakes up with no memory after almost being murdered. A local Guarani tribe nurses him back to health and gives him the name of “Pa’i”.

Pero pieces together who he is little by little, and discovers that his assailants, the duo Manolo and Vas, are members of a local vampire clan, and that they are still looking for him to finish the job. The story is divided in two halves, the first dealing with Pero’s recovery of identity, and the second with his revenge many decades later. Over the course of the plot, Pa’i becomes progressively more bitter, and has to ultimately decide between revenge and humanity.

“Barrocco: Radioelectric Noir” · Movie Proposal

#

A Spielberg-style sci-fi family movie.

VILLA CAMPILLO, CALIFORNIA, a city permeated by antennas, the home of the Ham & Ham Festival (“Eat meat, meet and greet ham radio aficionados!”). Sybil is a 20-something electronic engineer, and an amateur paranormal investigator, much like the main characters in Ghostbusters (1984), but studious and bold like Rhonda LeBeck in Tremors (1990). She feels the need to prove her ideas to others, and, by the course of the film, she will learn the bittersweet lesson that some experiences can’t be shared and attested, only experienced and assimilated into one’s character. She comes to the city to use its peculiar ionosphere in order to study a mysterious signal called the “Barocco signal.”

Paranormal investigators associate this sporadic transmission to a string of unexplained disappearances in the southern part of the United States and the northern half of Mexico. After a few days, she captures the Barocco signal, some sort of “number station” as in The Conet Project (1997), and tries to communicate with it, but its emitter seems bothered by the interruption.

The two signals

#

Meanwhile, in a farm nearby, an old lady listens to the radio when it is interrupted by another, unrelated transmission, the Chorale signal, another “number station.” Paranormal phenomena abound and the old lady is abducted by the apparition of a humanoid monster in ancient priestly clothes (inspired by the painting Priestess of Delphi, by John Collier,) followed by two “Men in Black” (who look like the Observer in Fringe, 2008.)

Back to Sybil, she is able to triangulate the location of the Barocco signal, and it leads her to an abandoned radio station, where, amongst maps, books, and other out-of-place paraphernalia, she finds a “tuner,” a curious machine that seems like a radionic contraption, the mixture of radio engineering, parapsychology and biometrics. The tuner is a dark box full of antennas, pointers and dials, and, particularly, two electromagnetic pads to put one’s hands onto. Sybil waits for someone to return to the place, but no one does.

She leaves and learns the news about the disappearance of the old lady. She decides to investigate the farm. After midnight, she breaks into the crime scene, and finds the old lady’s radio receiver in its epicenter. When she leaves, the men in black are waiting for her. They tail her back to Villa Campillo. She notices it, but chalks it up to paranoia.

The enemy closes in

#

Back in her room, she receives another Barocco transmission, this time addressed specifically to her. It reveals the presence of the men in black and instructs her to run away. The antagonists also hear the transmission and decide to make a move. After a tense game of cat and mouse, Sybil manages to escape and, instead of skipping town, she drives to the abandoned radio station.

Sybil makes a discovery

#

There, she catches a glimpse of a woman, dressed in white with a tall hat on her head, messing with the tuner. When they meet eyes, the apparition vanishes. Sybil examines the tuner and puts her hands onto the electromagnetic pads, which transport her into another dimension, where the radio station is a detective office decorated as if it was a set in Alphaville (1965.) The weirdly dressed woman, Aria, and her boss, Barocco, are there. Their clothes are inspired by the title character in Boogiepop and Others (1998.)

They meet Sybil and explain that they work for ECCO (a reference to John C. Lilly’s E.C.C.O,) a sort of “interdimensional” (or “interfrequentional”) police. They are trying to recapture Chorale, an escapee who had been imprisoned for three millennia, but the task proved itself to be harder than they thought.

After the introduction, Sybil will learn to use the power of the tuner, particularly its quirks around radio transmission, but Barocco will inform her that she won’t be able to keep her memories after the adventure is over. She will learn that Chorale enslaves his victims and forces them to undergo metamorphosis into horrible abominations (From Beyond, 1986; The Void, 2016; In the Mouth of Madness, 1994; Manhunt, 2003. These characters are in a spectrum from eldritch to humanoid.) In the climax, she will fight some of these creatures in a way to capture them unharmed. She will also discover a cult operated by the men in black around Chorale, whom she will capture with the help of one of his victims.

In the dénouement, Barocco will try to erase her memory, but not before ECCO learns that the cult has a bas-relief with the face and location of every one of its victims. Sybil will then be allowed to keep her memories for the time she helps them find and capture these people because she will have changed into one of the few human master of the tuner.

Commentary

#

The film aims to capture a tone reminiscent of family-oriented comedies from the 80s and 90s, taking inspiration from classics like Ghostbusters (1984), MIB: Men in Black (1997), and Big Trouble in Little China (1986). The “horror scenes” are intended to be no more intense than those found in Goosebumps (1996). Drawing cinematographic and musical inspiration from 80s John Carpenter, specifically focusing on the mood created by airy instruments, American nights, half-light, and fog, the film strives to maintain a modern approach. While influenced by the past, it is crucial to note that the movie is not constructed around nostalgia or a throwback sentiment but is designed to be thoroughly modern.