Private Project

The photo I haven't taken

A photographer loses her husband to a tragedy because he couldn't accept her crossdresser identity, leading her to live with a great sense of guilt. However, a photo taken at a bar reminds her of the last difficult moment she shared with her great love, bringing forth hidden feelings and desires.

  • Marcelo Meniquelli
    Director
  • Marcelo Meniquelli
    Writer
  • Maurício Abbade
    Producer
  • Alícia Abe
    Cinematography
  • Tatiana Pagamisse
    ASSISTANT DIRECTOR
  • Dell Moraes
    Key Cast
    "Josias"
  • Luciano Schwab
    Key Cast
    "Lio / Léa"
  • Teca Spera
    Key Cast
    "Telma"
  • Jully Frediani
    Key Cast
    "Suzy"
  • Apollo Faria
    Key Cast
    "Paulo"
  • Emmanuelle Lopes
    Key Cast
    "Larissa"
  • Beto França
    Characterization
  • Victo Tozarin
    Art Direction
  • Tita Martins Cançado
    Makeup Artist
  • Camila Sanchez
    Assistant Cinematographer
  • Eduarda Jordão
    Assistant Cinematographer
  • Rafael Fassani
    Art Production
  • Ariz Mangassarian
    Assistant Art Director
  • Alexandre Escudero
    Costume Design
  • Daniel Castilhos
    Sound Direction and Making Of
  • Fernando Higor Santos Silva
    Sound Operator
  • Daniel Castilhos
    Editing and Color Grading
  • Marcelo Meniquelli
    Editing and Color Grading
  • Apollo Faria
    Sound Editing and Mixing
  • Marcelo Meniquelli
    Sound Editing and Mixing
  • Luiz Bear
    Supporting Cast
  • Xexéu
    Supporting Cast
  • Alexandre Escudero
    Supporting Cast
  • Daniel Chiarelli
    Supporting Cast
  • Doug Bred
    Extras
  • Dougllas Ayram
    Extras
  • Fábio Teixeira
    Extras
  • Gabriela Marques
    Extras
  • Helena Brave
    Extras
  • Marcelo Pereira
    Extras
  • Selma Lacerda
    Extras
  • Vanessa Valeriano
    Extras
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Genres:
    Drama, LGBTQIA+
  • Runtime:
    19 minutes 40 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    July 16, 2023
  • Production Budget:
    5,500 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Brazil
  • Country of Filming:
    Brazil
  • Language:
    Portuguese
  • Shooting Format:
    BlackMagic Pocket 4K
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9 UHD
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Marcelo Meniquelli

I am an actor graduated from Fundação das Artes (São Caetano, SP) in the year 2000. I worked for almost 10 years in professional theater companies in São Paulo. I was a partner in an advertising agency for 11 years, with the last five years as the director of an audiovisual department. In 2021, I graduated as a film director from the Academia Internacional de Cinema. The experience as an actor and in the agency allowed me to combine various aspects of creation, from language to character development and directing actors.
During my course at the Academia Internacional de Cinema, I directed two short films: "Anguish" and “Symptomatic."
The short film "The Photo I Didn't Take" is my directorial debut.
Additionally, I have written nine short film scripts, such as "Anguish," "Symptomatic," "Bizarre Store," "One Step Back," "The Rest of Our Lives," "Selfie," "Jesus Killed My Son," "The Photo I Haven't Taken," and "The Box," as well as two feature film scripts, such as "City of Solitude" and "So Much Love."

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Director Statement

"The photo I haven't taken” portrays the transformative power of art for the artist. When I found myself in the midst of a depression crisis a few years ago, I wrote a script on the subject, which helped me understand and overcome that process.

The pain of the character Josias, unable to take a photo of his husband due to denying his crossdressing needs, moments before his husband was murdered, led him to adopt the mistake of that final photo as his language as a photographer. Only when he immersed himself in his pain and understood himself, could he overcome his sorrow and automatically change his aesthetics to something more “pleasing."

On another layer, in the narrative of the story, I wanted to delve into the universe of what is masculine and feminine, questioning established norms. Something that has always bothered me and that I sought to question was why a certain class within the LGBTQIA+ community in Brazil, cisgender gay men, still perpetuates sexist patterns towards other groups within this universe. This behavior, being a gay man myself, I also repeated at a certain point in my life, seeking a certain self-affirmation. And only with time, was I able to search and overcome this mindset.
Brazil is still the country with the highest rates of murders motivated by homophobia, transphobia, and many other phobias towards this community.

I wanted to delve into the understanding of a person who has no relation to accepting others or themselves. To what extent should we place our expectations on others? To what extent do we lack the courage to accept who we truly are?

Thus, Josias, a cisgender gay man, denies his husband's needs and loses him without having the chance to at least reach an understanding with his love. All that remains for him is a poorly taken photo and his husband's feminine clothes.

In "The photo I haven't taken,” I seek to bring forth the pain of these characters who are denied by the still-misogynistic society we live in. But also, the triumph of these individuals when they muster the courage to show themselves to the world as they truly are. Represented by Lio and Josias, who, by delving into their pain, discover new selves and, like Josias' husband, embrace their feminine side, giving life to Josi, their crossdressing identity.

"The photo I haven't taken” exposes the courage of these individuals who often paid with their own lives to reveal themselves to the world, leaving behind a legacy so that those who remained could live as their true selves with a little more freedom.