CATABASE FIRST PART: AD LOVE. 97min., France
Directed by Nicolas Pereira
Two lovers fall into madness.
https://www.instagram.com/nicolaspereiratheater/
Get to know the filmmaker:
1. What motivated you to make this film?
Honestly, I can’t say exactly why. By 2021, it had been four years since I had last directed a fiction film. In the meantime, I had worked as a screenwriter, script doctor, producer, cinematographer, and even as a content creator for Fashion Week. Yet, despite these experiences, all my personal projects had ended in failure.
2020 and 2021 had been particularly difficult years, both professionally and personally. Everything I tried to build seemed to collapse before it could even take shape. I had reached a point where waiting no longer made sense. If I wanted to make a film, I had to do it now, with whatever means I had.
It all started in November 2021, almost by accident. After a night of working in a nightclub, I was driving home when I got stuck in traffic. On a whim, I took out my iPhone and filmed a few shots inside my car, by pure instinct. Once home, I edited the footage to a piece of music by Wojciech Kilar and color-graded it in the style of a film noir. It wasn’t a calculated decision, but a spontaneous urge—as if I were finally allowing myself to do something I had always been told to avoid by client or the global industry.
And then, without fully realizing it at the time, something happened. These images were already telling a story I had yet to write.
Bit by bit, the film took shape in my mind: the story of a couple who love each other deeply but, despite everything, should not be together. As they struggle, they wear themselves out, burn out, and inevitably age—metaphorically.
Driven by this intuition, I kept filming, alone: a hand hovering over a lit stovetop, a snow globe in the shadows, a flickering lightbulb, an empty room where I smoke a cigarette. Then, I edited a teaser and sent it to Olivia Rose, a fellow acting student whose talent had always left me in awe. I asked her if she wanted to turn this into a film—a short, maybe a medium-length, perhaps even a feature. Less than five minutes later, she agreed to join me.
From that moment on, there was no turning back. Tired of waiting for a project to finally materialize, I decided to do everything myself: film alone with my iPhone, with no budget, no crew, and most importantly, no creative restrictions.
Filming began in January 2022 and spanned eight months—forty days of shooting filled with doubt, setbacks, and improvisation.
But above all, without intending it, this film became a catharsis. A raw, unfiltered reflection of my state of mind at that time. It wasn’t planned, yet perhaps that’s what makes it beautiful. Because it was born out of a deep, personal, and artistic necessity—out of urgency.
2. From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this film?
I started shooting the first scene in December 2021, wrapped up the shooting in August 2022, and completed the final edit in December 2024. So, the entire process took about three years.
3. How would you describe your film in two words?
That’s a tough one! Hmm, I would say “Love and Self-Destruction.”
4. What was the biggest obstacle you faced in completing this film?
First, it was filming with an iPhone and no other equipment. Then, the biggest challenge became shooting and acting at the same time. Doing both without a crew was extremely difficult. I’m meticulous, and I struggle with perfectionism. If something doesn’t look right or doesn’t belong in the frame, I can become very anxious. And when it was my turn to be in front of the camera—and even worse, when Olivia Rose and I both had to be in front of it—it was pure chaos in my mind. The framing was almost done blindly. I had no idea if I was in the shot, if the focus was correct, or if my performance was on point. We had to act, then watch the footage, then make sure we repositioned ourselves in the right spot, over and over again. Sometimes, a single shot could take hours to complete.
5. What were your initial reactions when watching the audience talking about your film in the feedback video?
It was great! It’s always interesting to get feedback on this film because everyone has different interpretations of the story, but never of its core or main theme. This makes me very happy because, in my opinion, a film should have a clear subject but allow for many interpretations and different readings.
6. When did you realize that you wanted to make films?
It was clear from a very young age that I wanted to make films, but the moment I truly realized it was when I watched The Godfather Part II at 15 years old. I was stunned. My heart was broken by the story, by John Cazale and Al Pacino (who instantly became my favorite actor).
This film became my favorite, and at that point in my life, I was out of school, so I had the time to watch it every day, on loop, for three full weeks—day and night. The acting, the drama, the script, the directing, the set design, the sound, the photography—I was completely obsessed with it.
7. What film have you seen the most in your life?
Hmmmm, I can’t tell you just one, but maybe eleven:
• The Godfather Part II and III, equally.
• Bram Stoker’s Dracula.
• Spider-Man 2 by Sam Raimi.
• Aliens by James Cameron.
• Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
• Hellraiser by Clive Barker.
• Jurassic Park 2.
• Die Hard 3.
• Rocky 6.
• Signs and Unbreakable by M. Night Shyamalan.
8. What other elements of the festival experience can we and other festivals implement to satisfy you and help you further your filmmaking career?
Hmmmm. It’s a complicated question.
You are a great festival, and I have nothing negative to say about you. My concern is more with festivals in general, which are not really designed for independent filmmakers. To give your film a chance, you often need to pay, again and again, depending on the category. And when you don’t have the resources, it becomes very complicated.
Let me explain better : many indie filmmakers don’t have the financial support to submit to several festivals, so paying for each category becomes a barrier. It’s hard enough to get the film made in the first place, so being constantly required to pay just to be considered can be discouraging.
This needs to change for indie filmmakers!
9. You submitted to the festival via FilmFreeway. How has your experience been working on the festival platform site?
It was simple, smooth, and professional.
10. What is your favorite meal?
Even if it’s not considered by many as a meal, I have to be honest: Ice cream.
In one word, mesmerizing…
11. What is next for you? A new film?
Right now, I’m finishing the editing of part 2 of Catabase, which I shot in 2023.
Alongside that, I’m working on the preproduction of my third feature, a science fiction / horror film , and I’m writing/finishing two other feature scripts that I hope to shoot in the next few years.
