For director Anthony Schatteman and actor Marco Pigossi, their new films mean a lot to them — both professionally and as gay men. Schatteman’s “Young Hearts” is the opening night film for this year’s Out On Film, while Pigossi stars in the closing night film “High Tide.”
“Young Hearts” is the story of 14-year-old Elias (Lou Goossens), living in a small Belgian town, who falls for his new neighbor Alexander (Marius De Saeger). At the age of 31, director Schatteman wanted to make a movie for a younger version of himself.
“I was talking with a friend of mine and her little boy was nine years old and he asked me one day [if] ‘I had an example of a movie I could watch because I think I like a boy in my class.’ I could not find an example. It was so weird. [At] this age, people start discovering themselves, and we are more free to talk about sexuality, so kids develop at a younger age the knowledge that they may be queer or feel different than everyone else.”
Schatteman grew up with movies like “Brokeback Mountain” and later there were similar-themed films such as “Call Me By Your Name.”
“But in all of these films, there are sexual scenes or sexual references,” he said. “I really wanted to make a film that was watchable for all ages. That is why I wanted to focus on the romantic point of view and no sexual references. That is why I chose to make them 13 and 14 years old. I wanted to find boys and the representation of innocence and youth.”
Schatteman wanted to make Elias a happy kid.
“I didn’t want to portray a boy that was being bullied,” he said. “When I grew up, I always wanted my parents to know that even though I was gay I was a normal boy. I didn’t want people to see me as an odd or abnormal son. I wanted to show Elias surrounded by a good group of friends. I wanted him to have a good happy life.”
Yet the two teenagers are very different. Elias has never seen any examples of queer love in his village. With Alexander, he meets a representation of freedom.
“Alexander is from the big city in Brussels, where you see more things,” Schatteman said. “Alexander is so free to tell [Elias] about his sexuality and that he might like boys. Something changes because Elias knows he is the same. For the first time, he can think of this.”
Elias is based on a younger version of Schatteman. The whole film is authentic — shot in the street where he grew up and the school he attended.
“I wanted to find the representation of this innocent, fun kid who might be a little naïve but who still needs to find his voice in the big world,” he said. “I wanted to make this for any kids who don’t get the chance to be who they want to be, or ever feel like an insider.”
In “High Tide,” Marco Pigossi stars as Lourenço, an undocumented Brazilian immigrant living in Provincetown, who — after having his heart broken — begins a relationship with Maurice (James Bland). It is a very personal project for the actor and for director Maro Calvani. There is a love story, Pigossi jokes, behind the film’s love story.
When he met Calvani, the director was writing the script. They met in Provincetown and fell in love. Calvani later handed Pigossi the script and said, “This is for you.”
“This became our baby and we are putting it out into the world,” Pigossi said. “The script came from many conversations with Marco. I have been a gay man all my life. I was in the closet in Brazil; I could not be out.”
He thinks a lot of people can relate to Lourenço’s story.
“For me, this movie is about this moment of limbo in your life, where you don’t know what is going to happen, but you have no place to come back,” Pigossi said. “I think everybody has been in this moment. It took a huge effort for him to leave his conservative family, to leave his conservative country, to find himself in Provincetown but now he doesn’t know what is going to happen, or where.”
The film has a strong supporting cast, including Marisa Tomei — who also served as an executive producer — Bill Irwin, Mya Taylor, and Bryan Batt. Pigossi has been seen in television shows such as “Gen V,” “Tidelands” and “Invisible City.”
“Young Hearts” screens on September 26 at the Midtown Art Cinema
“High Tide” screens on October 6 at the Midtown Art Cinema