Experiencing Interruptions?

The Gardener – or the Equinoxes of a Latent Memory

Oliver is an elderly man with degenerative dementia who lives alone in a house after the death of his wife, Julia. After an episode of dissociation, he comes across a Super 8 reel he recorded over 20 years and decides to watch it. In the footage, he witnesses the beginning of his relationship with Julia, during a date they had at what is now the Botanical Garden. These recordings from the past become tainted by the dementia of the future, and the elderly Oliver invades his 20-year-old self. In the film, Oliver and Julia converse, while in the present, Oliver searches for an answer that does not exist: the flower growing from his head will continue to grow until it is buried with him.

  • maquina
    Director
  • maquina
    Writer
  • Tomás Deola
    Producer
  • maquina
    Producer
  • Kátia Deola
    Producer
  • Henrique Augusto
    Key Cast
    "Young Oliver"
  • Helena Bohn
    Key Cast
    "Young Júlia"
  • Driana Faiden
    Key Cast
    "Older Júlia"
  • Vini Sant
    Key Cast
    "Older Oliver"
  • RespiroArt Filmes
    Production Company
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    O jardineiro - ou os equinócios de uma memória latente
  • Project Type:
    Short, Student
  • Genres:
    Drama, Poetic
  • Runtime:
    15 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    April 7, 2025
  • Production Budget:
    9,400 BRL
  • Country of Origin:
    Brazil
  • Country of Filming:
    Brazil
  • Language:
    Portuguese
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    Yes - Unespar
Director Biography - maquina

Kevin was born in Curitiba (Brazil), he is also known as maquina, he's a director, writer and film editor. As a director he started with "Inviável" (2022), "Pessoal" (2022) and "Ode ao Divagar" (2023), co-directed with Abrahão de Assis. His most recent work is the short film "o jardineiro - ou os equinócios de uma memória latente" (2025) and "Grimpa" (2025).

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Director Statement

Well, it all starts in winter, amidst the pandemic in 2021, on a clear night. My (then) partner and I were outside, smoking. Her grandfather had just passed away from Alzheimer’s. Coincidentally, mine had also died of dementia seven years earlier. I said: "Imagine if your grandfather, after his wife passed away, ran away to the countryside? How would he survive with Alzheimer’s?"

And that’s how The Gardener was born. An old man loses his wife and abandons everything he built. When I started filming, I also lost my partner—not to death, but to divorce. I saw myself in what I had begun to create: a mental fog, memories looping ad infinitum. Between recollections and crises, we did the pre-production of The Gardener – or the Equinoxes of a Latent Memory.

It took four years of changes, people leaving and returning (shoutout to my producer), and people who left for good. But it’s all there. Filming was madness. An actor canceled days before shooting. I crashed my car on the way to a makeup test. My art director was robbed. Batteries were forgotten. But it worked out, right?

For the final scene, I had thirty minutes to shoot. I simplified it. And thank goodness. Everything came through: an old body holding a sunflower, a sack of potatoes over his head. He takes the sack off and looks up. Hopeful? Never. But—at least—alive.

And that’s what the film is about. Memories, grief, time, inevitable losses. Tarkovsky says we don’t need to explain, just feel. And I believe The Gardener is one of those films—you have to feel it and then come talk to me after the screening.