Anatomy of a Scene: The Secret Agent

My Name is Kleber Mendonça Filho and I wrote and directed “The Secret Agent.” This sequence takes place in 1977 and it comes quite late in the film. I kind of knew it would be an important sequence for “The Secret Agent,” because this is where we finally get to spend some time with the people who are staying at Sebastiana’s building, and it would always be a challenging sequence from the point of view of writing and also of shooting.

We have Isabél Zuaa playing Tereza Victória. We have Licínio Januário, who plays her husband. Hermila Guedes plays Claudia. João Vitor Silva plays Haroldo. Tânia Maria, of course, who’s playing Dona Sebastiana. We have Lula Terra and also Gal, who’s asleep, and we have Robson, who plays Clóvis.

The whole sequence was incredibly challenging because we had one night. This is a night shoot. We shot from 7 p.m. until 4:30 a.m. and my biggest concern was that I wouldn’t be able to do justice to each and every character and to honor them, because I love each and every one of these characters.

mendonça filho, secret agent, 1977, sebastiana, tereza victória, isabél zuaa, licínio januário, hermila guedes, night shoot, film