Veteran of TV since childhood,
Anna Rita Cerqueira
She now throws herself into a different narrative than anything she has done in her career. The actress stars in “De Volta ao Jogo,” the new series from the ReelShort app, which bets on vertical novels with a feel of
TikTok
–It is the same successful platform
The Secret Life of My Billionaire Husband
In the role of Mariana, she lives the drama of a very young single mother, marked by abandonment and a reunion with the love of her past.
“Each meal required quick but very accurate choices,” explains Anna Rita to
TV News
. Because of the format’s speed –with short episodes and fast pace–, the actress had to adapt her way of acting.
Since the format is agile, I focused on delivering different emotions at each moment, with small variations in gaze, silence or breathing, so that the audience would feel her growth, even if in fragments.
Used to traditional TV, she admits that the vertical camera was another challenge. “It brings a different kind of intimacy, almost as if the viewer were inside the scene with you. Since the face occupies almost the entire screen, any small truth or lie becomes evident,” she evaluates.
In addition to Anna, the cast includes Bruno Guedes,
Thierry Figueira
e Yana
Sardenberg. The series follows Luis (Guedes), a soccer player in
The rise that discovers, years after a sudden breakup, that he has a six-year-old daughter with Mariana (Anna), his former lover. From this reunion, he must deal with the ghosts of the past and the impact of his choices.
“De Volta ao Jogo” is based on a foreign work from the platform itself, but the production took on Brazilian characteristics thanks to the script adaptation and Anna’s choice to create Mariana from scratch.
“Prefered not to be bound by the original work and sought a creation that had a Brazilian soul, especially in how Mariana faces challenges and expresses her emotions,” he reflects.
The recordings, which are completely different from traditional telenovelas, lasted only nine days, and each episode changes tone in the blink of an eye. “In traditional TV, sometimes you have a week to develop a conflict. Here, in two episodes we are already in another arc,” he says.
To accurately portray a single mother, Anna sought real-life stories. “But I also immersed myself deeply in my own sensitivity. It’s an incredible experience to be vulnerable and understand the world that comes with this child,” says the actress.
Despite the harshness of the plot, there is a very easy identification with Anna and Mariana. “She fights for herself, for her daughter, and even though she is knocked down many times, she rebuilds herself. I identify with this determination and also with her sense of humor in the face of chaos,” she reflects.
The interrupted romance also touched the interpreter. “I think the series talks a lot about second chances, not only in love, but also in the way we look at our own story,” says Anna Rita.
The novel, which premieres this Saturday (26), has 69 short episodes, filmed in Rio de Janeiro, produced by Cine8 Filmes and directed by Emanuel Orengo.
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