Translated from the Culture and Shows section front page of Portugal’s best selling Correio da Manhã newspaper.
American films fado story
■ From Ana Moura to Carlos do Carmo, many fadistas participate in “Heavenʼs Mirror,” which Joshua Dylan Mellars is going to premiere in September
by Ana Maria Ribeiro – Correio da Manhã
He is an American, born in San Francisco, who fell in love with the fado during a trip that he took to Lisbon when he was studying in college. It is the point of departure of a documentary about Lisbon’s traditional music.
“Heaven’s Mirror: A Portuguese Voyage” by Joshua Dylan Mellars will screen in Kenwood (September 17) and in Santa Rosa (September 18), in California (USA), but it does not yet have a premiere date set for Portugal.
The Correio da Manhã caught up with the young director during a trip to Portugal and asked him how he got fadistas Ana Moura, Carlos do Carmo, Mafalda Arnauth, Celeste Rodrigues and Katia Guerreiro, among others, to participate in a film that he describes as a “personal project more than an artistic one” and calls an “emotional journey.”
“Everything came together naturally. I got to know the fado houses–like Mesa de Frades–and met various fadistas. Each one kindly spoke with me about their relation with the fado,” he said. With Camané, the director got a walking tour through the streets of Lisbon; with Ana Moura, he got to know record stores where fado music is sold; with Mafalda Arnauth, he went to Sintra to see the place that inspires her.
The film is playing the international film festival circuit, but Joshua Dylan Mellars is particularly “excited” to show the documentary in the country where it was filmed. “I think the Portuguese are going to enjoy it.”