Quarto 38 Press Kit

Logline:
A group of friends find themselves circling in time. Welcome to room 38. Within it's confines time becomes scattered and loops back on it's self, memory becomes useless, and survival carries an entirely different meaning.

Synopsis:
1.) Almost everyone has experienced a moment when they feel that something out of their scope of understanding has occurred - almost as though for a moment, the dream world and the world we live in were the same thing. Time seems to shift back and forth, things take place out of order, our memories seem almost meaningless. We almost never express them, and usually dismiss them as simple "absent-mindedness" - but there are places where these moments cannot be ignored. Places where the no voices can be heard, only echoes. Places like this. Remember - you can't leave, if you never arrive.

2.) Luisa gets locked outside her hotel room but can't remember a thing. Luisa's best friend Mari wakes up fully clothed in a tub of water and can't remember how she got there. And Mari's older sister, Simone wakes up in a coffin deep within the confines of a dark, moldy basement beneath the hotel itself. Welcome to room 38. Within it's confines time becomes scattered and loops back on it's self, memory becomes useless, and survival carries an entirely different meaning.

"Quarto 38 captures a moment somewhere between Lynch and Hitchcock." - Global Independent Short Film Review

Film Facts:

Director's Statement:
Quarto 38 (Room 38) started out as an idea to create a series of zero budget experimental films with high production value equal to films with much higher budgets. Zero Budget is never zero cost. The total cost of this film was around R$1500 (US$650). I wanted to create a series of challenges to push the creativity of all involved in the project. The scripts are written with a feature film in mind but shot as a short. The short promotes the possibility of the feature using the festival circuit. Another film (eupnea)in this Zero Budget Experimental Series was shot with Daniela Escobar in Los Angeles which is currently in post. Basically, these projects were inspired by Steven Soderbergh's "Full Frontal" film. I created a production manifesto outlining the structure we all had to follow during the production.

Quarto 38 Manifesto:
Quarto 38 foi criado para ser um roteiro aberto que incentiva a improvisação por parte de seus atores. Esse curta metragem experimental será uma produção com orçamento R$0,00 (zero reais) e um "guia" que nos ajudará a manter tal intenção.

A todos os atores envolvidos nesse curta metragem experimental,
por favor, prestem atenção na lista a seguir:

- Todos os sets são locações práticas.
- Vocês serão responsáveis, tanto pela forma como chegar às locações, bem como sair delas.
- Nao haverá servico de buffet, apenas aperitivos e bebidas. Portanto, certifiquem-se de estarem alimentados antes de filmarmos.
- Vocês serão responsáveis pela escolha da roupa usada pelo seu personagem, bem como trazê-la e mantê-la consigo durante a filmagem.
- Você criará e manterá também seu penteado e maquiagem. (Tudo indica que teremos uma maquiadora disponível no dia, porém não devemos contar com isso 100%).
- Improvisação será muito bem-vinda! Extremamente encorajada!

Outras notas:
- Nao haverão trailers nos locais. Proveremos cômodos para troca de roupas e maquiagem, bem como áreas de descanso em cada locação.
- A equipe de produção será extremamente limitada. Haverão por volta de 4 a 5 pessoas responsáveis por ela, sem contar os atores. Os membros da produção estarão trabalhando em diferentes funções, fazendo o melhor possível para corresponder às necessidades de um dia de gravação.

The 1st AD, art director and I worked hard for several days of building the sets for all the basement scenes. We had 3 days of actual production for the basement story and 2 days of shooting for the hotel story. We had to go back to the hotel for a couple of hours to pick up the scene where Debora's character is running down a hallway trying to find room 38. After production I went back to LA for another project which took me away from starting post production on Quarto 38. Four months later post production began. Three weeks later I had the first rough cut of the film.

I have always had a strong interest in moving images. I was always curious of how films were made. Dissecting every scene, trying to figure out how they did that shot, how many different setups did they do to make that edit. I had my opportunity at a very young age, though I don't think age 13 is starting young with what kids have access to today regarding filmmaking. Around age 14, my father would bring home on the weekends this high-end video camera he used for scientific experiments (at this time people were just starting to own VCRs in their homes - damn I'm really dating myself.) A big fan of Bruce Lee, every weekend I would make martial art movies with all the neighborhood kids. I had to edit each scene in my head, putting the video recorder on pause and quickly moving the camera to the next setup before the tape heads would burn an annoying rainbow effect onto my tape. It’s funny looking back on this, and seeing how those experiences have enhanced my filmmaking today. Today, technology is enabling anyone with an idea to create.  - "Film will only become art when it's materials are as inexpensive as pencil and paper." Now we just have to work on that distribution problem we have.

Bios:

Thomas Edward Hale - Director
Thomas Edward Hale is a feature film Writer, Director and Cinematographer originally from Los Angeles, California and currently living in one of the largest unknown cities in the world, Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Thomas has always enjoyed telling stories. At the age of fourteen he directed his earliest movies. Using an advanced digital video camera his physicist father borrowed from the lab on the weekends, he directed and shot martial arts movies. An excuse to use and abuse his friends, Thomas was able to convince other children in the neighborhood to appear in his movies. From these humble beginnings the passion to make movies was born. With a passion for making movies, music, computers and electronics would soon become distractions adding other creative outlets to his life.

Back in the late 1980's, Thomas founded a film production company, thrusting himself into the world of music videos. The company quickly found a niche in music video production when it developed a portable editing studio giving independent bands access to quality music videos on location. Accepted to film school around this time, Thomas quickly changed gears when he was selected to join an international rock band on one of the largest tours of Russia.

Musically, Thomas has toured the former Soviet Union in a rock band, was signed to a Japanese record label, recorded his CD at Peter Gabriel's Real World Studios, and produced numerous musical acts all over the globe. You can check out his last recording effort with his band, PortalTheory.com. Most recently adding the feature film "Quadrum" under his belt in which he scored, edited and directed.

For more information, please visit: www.thomashale.com

Credits:
Executive Producers: Daniela Escobar, Thomas Edward Hale
Written by Christopher Slayter and Thomas Edward Hale
Directed by: Thomas Edward Hale
Edited by: Aminyaka Besa Paucosando
Music and Sound: Portal Theory
Producer: Vanessa Falabella
Cinematography: Caio Pinto
Production Designer: Stu Pedasso

Cast:
Simone - Débora Falabella
Fernando - Alexandre Cioletti
Mari - Cynthia Falabella
Luisa - Barbara Paz

Title Sequence Cast:
Jennicer Hayworth
Renata Abreu
Suellen Slindvain
Maythe Albuquerque
 

Crew:
1st Assistant Director and translations: Mary Pedroso
Art Director: Marcelo Petit
Camera (Porao Scene): Ilya Yamasaki
Boom (Porao Scene): Marcelo Souza
Production Assistants: Jennicer Hayworth, Thiago Gonzaga, Roberta Sinonsien
Makeup Consulting: Amanda Oliver
Storyboards: Diogo Hayashi