The first time we spoke to Spanish director Alberto Morais it was to discuss a journey taken by the old in The Waves. Alberto returns to the London Film Festival this year with yet another journey film; this time undertaken by the young on behalf of the old in The Kids from the Port. We caught up with Alberto again to discuss directing child actors and the difficulties of filmmaking in a country that has little regard for homegrown artistic culture.
The Kids from the Port (2013)
Miguel makes the journey that his grandfather can’t make because he’s locked up by his own family. The mission is very simple, go to a funeral and leave an army jacket on the grave of an old man, a friend of his grandfather. Miguel, accompanied by Lola and Guillermo, leaves that island inside the city of Valencia that is the Nazaret neighborhood. He wanders the outskirts of Valencia, looking for a cemetery and faces a deserted city, at least for one day.
The children you have are the children you will see in the film. They don’t understand psychological things, they are for real.
