Bruno Barreto

How would you define your film? It’s a Greek tragedy. And, if you want, it’s also Charles Dickens in the streets of Rio.

Were you especially interested in addressing social problems? It was never my intention. Rather the opposite: I wanted to keep them just as background, never foreground. That was just the context, not the text. The difference between my film and a film like City of God - which I think is great - is that, in that film, the social context is the protagonist of the narrative. In Last Stop 174, the characters are the protagonists.

Do you think film has any part to play in improving people situations? I think so. I don’t think you should make a film in order for that to happen, but I think films can do that in spite of what they’re intended for. My goal was to tell a story. But this film helped a lot of NGOs. People from the Brazilian government saw it and it brought the focus back to the street children. It created more awareness. I mean City of God did that and measures were taken by the government and in society. Then there was this vacuum after City of God. Later on my film came and they said again, “Ok, we’ve gotta do something”.

Did you feel a responsibility to stay close to the facts of the story? I actually deliberately stayed away from them as much as I could. My goal was really to appropriate reality and to make it my own. Reality is so absurd and incredible that you need fiction in order to understand it.

There’s a lot of talk about some Latin American films being made for a European rather than a local audience. Is this an issue for you? It’s a very complex issue. Brazil makes 80 to 100 features every year and the “window” for these films to be seen abroad is - like for many other countries - film festivals. This means you are in the hands of curators and their preconceptions: “From Brazil, this is what we expect, from Argentina, this is what we expect.” This is a problem because it creates a false niche, and at the moment it’s films about urban violence. But I didn’t do Last Stop 174 because I wanted to cater to what curators wanted. I did it because I think it’s one of the best stories I’ve ever had in my hand.

Do you consider yourself a Brazilian director? I’ve lived in the US for 18 years. I went back to Brazil three years ago to get this film together. I feel like a citizen of the world. Once you’re an immigrant, you always are. I really feel like a foreigner anywhere I am, above all in Rio, where I was born and raised. I will go wherever I find love and work.

Is the audience a concern for you when making a film? Of course. I want to make sure the film is accessible. I like sharp storytelling. My goal is to grab the audience by the emotions and not by the brain.

by Donal Foreman