In an exclusive interview, Flickering Myth sat down with Gica Pucca, an award-winning actress hailing from Brazil, to talk about life as an actor in Los Angeles, and her lead role in Saudade.
Hi Gica Pucca, welcome to Flickering Myth! Has there been one particular moment in your career that you’re most proud of?
Hi guys! Thank you for having me! I have to say Macbeth was my favorite piece to make, and the hardest challenge I faced during my training years. The concept was for all students to produce their own piece for graduation. As a group, we selected a play, planned the budget, and established the visual identity. I promoted parties for fundraising, looked for costume designs, had to learn how to play the drums for live music on stage and, on top of all of that, prepared and performed my role as the First Witch. The piece was incredibly well received, especially the physical work of the actors on stage. We were all so proud of the outcome. I’m personally grateful for Karina Almeida, our movement coordinator, who is an exceptional dancer, choreographer, and master. I bring her teachings with me in every project I’m in.
What’s been the pros and cons of pursuing your acting career?
You don’t become an actor just by yourself, you have a whole crew, cast and audience around you. And that leads to all sorts of types of pros and cons. You need to let yourself be looked at on stage, work with people you just met, learn how to speak with people and connect with them. You’ll for sure learn how to deal with anxiety, insecurities, self-doubt, and critics, but you’ll also learn how to be a better communicator and listener. After all, letting yourself connect with the outside world helps to understand more about yourself and others.
Who are your filmmaker influences growing up that helped to mold you into who you are today?
Spielberg with E.T., Peter Jackson with Lord of the Rings and Robert Zemeckis with the Back to the Future saga. They all have a special place in my heart along with the animations: Treasure Island, How to Train Your Dragon and the brilliant world of Hayao Miyazaki with Studio Ghibli.
Tell us about the movie Saudade.
Saudade is a movie about a dancer who faces a ghost of her past and has to come out victorious to find her true self once again. It’s inspired by a personal story of mine. I was going through a really harsh breakup, and I wanted to do something about it. Once, one of my performing arts teachers, Gabriel Miziara, told me: “you gotta take your feelings and frustrations and transform them into art, that’s what an artist does”, and that is what I did. Saudade in the Brazilian Portuguese language is best translated to: “the feeling of longing for something or someone you deeply love but might never see again”. The word is mostly related to a good feeling of nostalgia, but when it comes to longing for romantic love it has its shadows.
That is an interesting storyline. How did you prepare for the role?
I let myself figure out a way to express the loss of a relationship through dance. It was an emotional process and we wanted to make sure to show all the good and bad parts of this story. I’m grateful for the trust the whole crew had upon me. For weeks we studied the steps, created choreography, and built a relatable world where the characters met. Constantin always had my back during this whole process, and I am incredibly thankful to have him as a friend, roommate and co-star.
Can you share any fun facts from the set?
This time I was in the production side too and it was a great opportunity to practice the step by step of movie making in the professional industry. And it’s exactly what they say: you have an idea, and you just have to find the right people to make it happen. Budgeting and attending meetings, while having to deal with rehearsal was definitely a fun challenge to face and it all came out perfectly. FenderBender Films is an exceptional production company. I knew I could trust Diana Cody and Josie Hull to help me tell this story and I couldn’t be more thankful for both of them. On the day of the shooting, I had so many costume changes, fake tattoos and different hairstyles, Kylie the makeup artist did an amazing job juggling all of that. The whole crew gave their all. I am truly thankful for that. I was able to make a dream come true in Hollywood because of them.
How did this project come about?
I met Josie Hull during the 48hrs Film Festival during her screening of the title Lights, a month later I was working in one of her sets, followed by becoming a dancer for Not the Problem (official music video) by the artist LOGAN, where I also met Max Zimmer, our cinematographer for Saudade. The day we had the script ready, Josie was the first one we wanted to call. And she made it all happen.
You have scooped up several awards, congratulations!
Thank you, yes! So far Saudade collected “Best Silent Film” at this year’s NYIFA New York International Film Festival (2024) and I picked up “Best Actress in a Silent Film – Platinum Award” at the Best Actor & Director Awards (2024), and we aren’t finished yet!
Have you set any 2024 goals to achieve?
I make a list every first day of the year with professional and personal goals I want to achieve. In addition to advancing my career as an actress and filmmaker, in 2024 I want to learn a new language, some new cooking recipes and finally start some martial classes I’ve been meaning to.
Any upcoming projects?
We are in the final process of producing Project 405: Lost at Sea and soon it will be showcased for the media audience. We have two new projects lined up for this year and hopefully I will be talking more about them soon!
Our thanks to Gica Pucca for taking the time for this interview, and for Liz Rodriguez from EMR Media for helping us with the interview.
