'Narrate it as if I were no longer here', a chat with Ary Fontoura on set and Simone de Beauvoir in Ibirapuera Park: behind the scenes of 'Fernanda', the documentary Fernanda Montenegro guides on the eve of her 97th birthday

The documentary 'Fernanda' opens with an instruction from Fernanda Montenegro herself for the narration: 'Narrate it as if I were no longer here.' Directed by Pedro Waddington, stepson of Fernanda Torres, and produced by Conspiração in co-production with NBCUniversal, the film had its world premiere on Thursday (8) at the Cine Odeon, in the Première Brasil: Hors Concours section of the Rio Film Festival. The actress, who turns 97 on October 16, was confirmed to attend but stayed away after feeling unwell.

Instead of a parade of interviewees explaining her importance, Waddington relied on recent behind-the-scenes footage, archives and the actress's own voice. The camera followed Fernanda on the sets of 'Vitória' and 'Velhos Bandidos', waiting to shoot and discussing scenes; in one of the most candid moments, she talks with Ary Fontoura about characters, songs and colleagues who have died. The archive includes Paulo Autran, Paulo José, Gianfrancesco Guarnieri and Nelson Rodrigues, behind-the-scenes material from 'House of Sand' (2005), directed by Andrucha Waddington with her daughter Fernanda Torres, and a reading of Simone de Beauvoir in Ibirapuera Park. Fernando Torres, Cláudio and Fernanda Torres appear in the credits as husband, son and daughter.

Told out of chronological order, the film treats aging as an everyday subject, and Fernanda even says this may be her last screen appearance. 'It was very beautiful, very joyful to follow a woman with so much wisdom,' said the director, who summed up the actress's outlook: 'Fernanda talks a lot about an unglamorous cinema, without a red carpet.' After the festival, 'Fernanda' premieres on Universal+ in December, with no date set yet.