By Lucy Spicer
One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Festival is having a front-row seat for the bright future of independent filmmaking. While we can learn a lot about the filmmakers from the 2024 Sundance Film Festival through the art that these storytellers share with us, there's always more we can learn about them as people. This year, we decided to get to the bottom of those artistic wells with our ongoing series: Give Me the Backstory!
A filmmaker is bound to feel self-imposed pressure when it comes to their feature debut. In Pedro Freire's case, that pressure was compounded by his choice of subject: his late mother, Brazilian actor Malu Rocha. Written and directed by Freire, Malu follows its title character as she contends with middle age, tense relationships with her adult daughter and conservative mother, and the fact that her glory days are behind her.
As it is a very personal film, I cried a lot during the process, from the first versions of the script to editing. I think I only stopped crying during the color correction, admits Freire. During filming, in the most dramatic scenes, I would go up to the actresses to talk to them between takes, and I would be bathed in tears. But sharing the stakes proved to be the best direction he could give. The subject was deeply emotional for me, and it became that way for them, too.
Malu premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival as part of the World Cinema Dramatic Competition. And though Freire's feature directorial debut involved a lot of crying, he insists that the act of filmmaking is a joyful one - and powerful. I have a lot of fun directing films, directing actors, thinking about camera positioning, editing. And I believe that we all have to seek in life to work with something that gives us joy and the desire to continue living, he explains. At the same time, cinema is an extremely powerful means of transmitting ideas and emotions. So there is a huge responsibility in making a film - making a film is always a political act. So I try to find a path in cinema where I can have fun and make a difference in the world at the same time.
Read on to learn more about Malu and its director, including Freire's favorite part of the filmmaking process and why he believes this story needs to be told now.
North America Stories
13/01/2026
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By Lucy Spicer
