Claudia Tomaz wins the Critics' Prize for her feature debut Noites

Why did you choose the subject of drug addiction?

I was drawn to this subject for several reasons. It's something that happens all the time in the Lisbon streets. The area where I shot the movie is in the centre of the city. I do not live very far away from that area and it has always affected me to see those people's lives destroyed by drug addiction. Drug changes them physically, and this is very impressive... What they do to get drug is somehow a way of denying their life. I was interested in considering and observing this way of living a senseless life, without any aim, except that of getting money and drug. It was like facing the precariousness of life everyday.

You are both director and actress in that movie, how was it? Was it difficult to do both?

It was sometimes easier and sometimes more difficult to be both at the same time. As the shooting of the film lasted three years with changes in the screenplay, it was more difficult to be before and behind the camera. We prepared a lot before the shots to obtain what I wanted, which was easier. In the scenes where I was acting with Joao, we improvised a lot. And we had the opportunity to shoot it again if it didn't match what I wanted.

As a director, where does your inspiration come from?

I am overall inspirated by life, by what I experience in the streets. I very much like other people's cinema, but I don't want to follow any example. I prefer shooting things in my own way.

In Hollywood people say it is difficult to be a woman director, how is it in Portugal? What about being both a woman and a director in Portugal?

In Portugal it's not easy to be a director, whether you are a man or a woman... Because there isn't a lot of money for cinema.
As a woman,.... I don't know. I have already shot other movies and I didn't have any problems. I think it is the same.

What do you plan to do after Venice?

I am still gradually coming back from this movie. But I have an idea for a screenplay. I am currently writing it with Joao (the protagonist of Noites), but we are still not completely fixed about what it is going to be like.

How did you choose the other actors in the movie?

Joao is not an actor. I chose him mainly because of his toxico addiction. We did the castings in the area where we wanted to shoot the movie, and that's how I discovered him. I actually found him on the day of the first casting. As far as the others are concerned, I found them on the spot, except the mother. She is a real actress.

Just a last question, when did you know you wanted to be a director?

I think it was at University. I was studying for a Communication degree and I started thinking about video and shooting. I was lucky because in my section, they had just opened a Cinema specialisation. And I chose it... That was like that...

Congratulations and thanks.

Interview by Kerry Shaw and Robin Gatto