From Brazil, he has been living in different countries for the past 12 years. Arthur has a background in Advertising as a Creative Director where he had the chance to work in different companies in Brazil, Canada, U.S.A and Ireland. Being working in Advertising, Arthur developed the interest for film while doing commercials years ago. He gained experience in doing TV commercials, music videos and other jobs related to the industry. A lover of film production, Arthur produced and edited his first short called ‘Wild Bird’ in 2019, the short was chosen to be screened at The Creative Week in Griffith College Dublin in the summer of 2019 and it also got selected to the Virgin Media Dublin International Film Festival (student frame) in 2020.
Director Statement
When we talk about bodies, most of the time we automatically think about beauty. But at the same time that I believe there is a standard of beauty(that is impregnated in our mind for decades) I also believe that there is no universal standard of beauty. For example: My friend’s body can be glorified in the West of the world and simultaneously a cause for violence in the East. But it’s our culture that worships youthfulness, whiteness, and thinness, and our sexualities follow the same path.
I guess, the body and our perceptions of the body are influenced by culture and context, and we are certainly responsible for upholding standards of beauty by placing certain bodies on pedestals.
I believe the message of this documentary is to bring to the screen some sorts of issues and struggles some people go through when they are growing up and especially how these issues and experiences shape someone’s personality for the rest of their lives. But it’s not about victimizing them or putting them in this tragedy storyline, as sometimes the queer community is portrayed, but celebrating them.
These individuals are not victimizing themselves with their stories. They all have different background, even though they have similarities, each one of them has a complete unique story, and each story contrasts each other. The photoshoot is a metaphor of stripping off, as in stripping off their traumas, their issues and show their bodies the way it is and celebrate it.
What I want to achieve with this documentary is a sense of community where everyone is celebrated for who they love, who they are, and how they look. Queer people do carry certain things within their own skin, however this does not stop them to find their happiness, their balance among all those standards.
In the past 20 years, the queer community has achieved cultural and legislative goals that are beyond what 3 generations ago could have never imagined. But this issue is an individual issue that happen to themselves and consequently affects a whole community and the way they see themselves in society. And to achieve the message to the audience, I have no doubt as well that besides the Queer Community, there are lot of people who does not identify themselves as queer that are up to this challenge, The challenge of self-acceptance and embracement and I believe this documentary would be a grain of sand for expressing this visually.
Arthur Lopes
LGBTQ+ Toronto Film Festival 