01/03/2016 - Filmes do Gajo's Mário Gajo de Carvalho, Emerging Producer 2016 from Portugal, talks about documentary production and the whole creative process

Mário Gajo de Carvalho, Emerging Producer 2016 from Portugal, works for production company Filmes do Gajo.

Cineuropa: What qualities should a documentary producer have these days?
Mário Gajo de Carvalho: Patience, time, money, health, motivation, endless working hours, more patience, good mood, good temper, good directors working with him, a positive work environment, a vision encompassing both the classic and contemporary cinema and, last but not least, a good taste in wine.

To what extent do you, as a producer, get involved in the creative process?
This largely depends on the documentaries and the directors. Some directors don’t want any help in the creative process from anyone and others are very permissive in this respect. I almost always get in a close relation with the film. It might probably be better for me, personally, to keep more distance and to stick to the bureaucratic and boring aspect of the film. But for me it’s hard to do that, because working on a film does not only involve monotonous tasks, and affection is always present. What is cinema without emotions?

What projects do you have under way?
Several projects, not only documentary but also animation. As regards documentary, one film is planned to be shot in Africa, which I have a lot of expectations for, but it’s too soon to talk about the project as it’s still in the development phase.

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Emerging Producers is a promotional and educational project, which brings together talented European documentary film producers. The programme is organised and curated by the Jihlava International Documentary Film Festival.

Deadline for applications to the Emerging Producers 2017 edition is 31 March, 2016. Click here.