Meet Valentina Rosset | Filmmaker

We had the good fortune of connecting with Valentina Rosset and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Valentina, why did you pursue a creative career?
I always knew that this was where my biggest interests were, so internally, it felt natural to go this way. With the support I had, I was able to develop these interests and mature it into film. Being in theater and playing the piano when growing up was important for me to realize why I was attracted to the feelings of tension and release, which I believe are very present in the artistic field. But it’s way more than that, because film is a whole language and form of expression, and can be used as a tool to document struggles and expose conflicts. There are just endless possibilities, and the language of it really attracts me.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I’m in the beginning, and I see my work so far as experiments and attempts to get to what I want as I’m doing it. It is true that the more you shoot, the more you learn. I’ve grown an interest in gestures and framing small things from daily life as a performative act, and I believe I’m still finding my way of how to do it. For example, until last year I was pretty much shooting on my own, sometimes with one or two friends to help me, but that was it. That’s also because the things I wanted to film didn’t require more people in the production. In a way, I felt less pressured during the shoots and more flexible to try what I wanted. My last film “Um Tropeço em Cinco Movimentos” (A Slippage In Five Movements, 2023) was a very small production, and it was constructed over the course of two years, going back and forth from filming to editing. I was interested in working formally, with music and image in a way that they echo each other, in the editing and in the image itself. But now I’m really looking to work with more people, which, is at the same time very exciting but also challenging. When I film by myself, and I know a lot of filmmakers my age can identify with this, there is more room to fail or to change your mind as you’re doing it. It is way more comfortable. But depending on what you want, it also limits you in many ways. I learn a lot from working in friends´ projects, and when it’s my own, working with others – especially friends – has brought things that I’m sure I would have never thought about or achieved if it wasn’t for them. Recently, I’ve been interested in working with non-actors, casting either my friends or strangers who I’m drawn to for a particular reason to perform in small scenes based on interviews and conversations I have with them. Establishing these relationships, especially when street casting, has been incredibly enriching since I’m looking to adapt my projects to them more than I want them to adapt to my initial ideas. I think that studying in the United States and being in the experimental film community in LA has been a privilege in many ways, but conflicting at the time time. It’s a culture that enhances very individualistic workflows, even in the independent circles. So, I’m really craving to create an alternative for this in my own projects and workflows, and I’m excited because I know I have a lot to learn from others, especially back in Brazil.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Los Angeles is a very touristic place, so I would be interested in showing the places that, to me, feel more local and a bit more hidden. After four years of living here, it still surprises me how close we are to nature. Pasadena for example, has some beautiful trails and even waterfalls that I could spend all day with friends, like Switzer Falls (which was introduced to me by a friend). In terms of the urban life in the arts, I should mention the volunteer-run 2220+ Arts & Archives, which is always hosting an incredible variety of film programs, music events and poetry readings, creating a very exciting environment for emerging and established artists.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Absolutely. I´m privileged for having a big support for what I do, from family to friends and institutions. This is not the case for many artists and communities today, so it´s crucial to keep demanding public programs to fund artists and support cultural production on all levels of society. In terms of my own relationships, that´s what really inspires me to do anything, and I love to record my friends, grandparents, and loved ones. I like to imagine films or even small scenes with them in it. There are filmmakers who are constant sources of inspiration such as Chantal Akerman, Jonas Mekas, Hong Sang-soo and Betzy Bromberg, though I also find a lot of inspiration through Brazilian music and writings. My mentors and faculty in undergrad were extremely important and eye-opening to me, always pushing and motivating me to learn new ways of thinking about film. It´s also really encouraging to see my friends´ artistic practices up-close, as well as my sister´s, who´s also a filmmaker. We learn a lot from each other all the time. Film clubs are also a major place where a lot comes from. For example, during the pandemic, I had an online film club with Brazilian friends on Latin American Cinema, and the routine of watching and discussing those films together was incredibly motivating, and we learned a lot as a group, more than in any academic class. Right now, I´m curious to learn more about film collectives, and Latin American art collectives that create their own dynamic of support and production.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/morangoazul/

Other: Email: Valentina.rosset@gmail.com

Image Credits
Sofía Alvarado Hannah Panov