Denise Fernandes was born in Lisbon, in 1990, to Cape Verdean parents and grew up in Switzerland. Her latest short film, Nha Mila (2020), premiered at the Locarno Film Festival, was nominated for the European Film Awards, and went on to screen at more than 40 international festivals. With Hanami — her feature directorial debut, filmed in Cape Verde — Fernandes has already drawn international acclaim, winning the Best Emerging Director Award in Locarno’s Cineasti del Presente competition and receiving a Special Mention for the First Feature Awards.
We had the pleasure of speaking with Denise about the inspirations behind Hanami, the film we will be screening at RIFF, her connection to Cape Verde, and the role of magic realism and nature in her work.
RIFF: Firstly, I would like to know what particular interests drew you to filmmaking, and how do they manifest in your approach to the films you directed.
DENISE: The experience that I often refer to is the experience of learning how to read when I was a child, because it heavily influenced my choice to become a storyteller later in life. I remember when you start reading and writing as a child, first you start spelling your name, then you learn some words, and then sentences. Later, you start reading short stories, and the short stories that I would read as a kid were written by amazing storytellers. Maybe it’s a universal experience. The stories were probably based on Asian or Greek stories, and other universal stories involving animals. I remember that these stories felt very powerful to me as a reader, and it’s something that made me a very obsessive reader in my life. At some point, I felt that I wanted to be a writer, and I remember trying to write a book as a teenager. I was on the first page, but already feeling that it wasn’t as much fun as I thought. I was 12, trying to write a novel. I said, okay, maybe I don’t want to be a writer, maybe it’s something else that I want. Then, I kept seeing that some books that I had been reading, or that I had already read, were becoming trailers for films, and that was a little bit shocking for me, because I felt that this wasn’t a suitable trailer for the book that I had been reading. In that moment, something switched in me, and I understood that what I wanted was to materialize stories. I wanted to bring the stories to life, and cinema was the right medium for that.
RIFF: I understand you were born in Portugal and raised in Switzerland, but your heritage is Cape Verdean. I was wondering if making Hanami deepened your connection to your Cape Verdean heritage in a new or maybe unexpected way?
DENISE: Absolutely, I think this is one of the most crucial aspects of Hanami, although I didn’t know it before. I wished my first feature film would be shot in Cape Verde, which is a country without an official industry. That means I didn’t grow up watching Cape Verdean films. It’s not something that happens and I’m just one of thousands and thousands of Cape Verdeans that don’t grow up in Cape Verde. Actually, most Cape Verdeans live outside Cape Verde rather than inside. Around 10 years ago, I told myself: “Okay, if I have the chance to make a feature film, I want it to be set in Cape Verde”, knowing how long it might take, and how much effort and resources you need to make a film. At that time, I experienced a kind, not even reconnection, but connection. Despite not growing up in Cape Verde, I feel I’m truly Cape Verdean. I cannot separate my identity from my heritage, but to arrive at this conclusion I had to make a film, because before that I didn’t think I was a real Cape Verdeans. The film ends with a meeting, a closure, and maybe a symbol of growing up. I feel that over the years, I was getting further from my heritage, and the film helped me get closer. But it took time. It was not something immediate.
RIFF: The next thing I was wondering about is why it was important for you to approach this story through the lens of fables or magic realism? I feel like all the things you've done so far are quite poetic, so that's just kind of your style, but why was it important to you?
DENISE: Thank you. This is a very, very beautiful question. I think it’s important for me, because it's something that I have always been missing. I grew up as an African person in Europe, and I think I grew up with the image of the African continent being defined instead of the countries defining themselves. This definition was often very rough, very extreme, very incomplete. I felt that this was not the truth, and that I needed to include a sense of softness in my film, which I feel is excluded from some narratives or from some views that people can have upon the entire continent. I also grew up reading stories that were soothing for me, even if they contained both light and dark, and I think that it was intuitive for me to try to get back to the feeling I had when reading these stories, and to try to include it in my film.
RIFF: Hanami plays a lot with language and communication, especially in this one scene where the Japanese researcher and the Cape Verdean citizens understand each other despite their speaking different languages: Japanese and Creole. What did you hope to explore or express through this?
DENISE: I wanted to express infinite possibilities and to show something that could seem impossible, but actually turned out to be doable in the context of this film. This also happens in real life; people often meet and we don’t know how we communicate as humans, but we do despite differences in languages and cultures. For me, Hanami is not about telling a story from a faraway island, but bringing the island closer to the world, until you feel that it can be your own island. The two characters you mentioned embody this encounter. I hope it’s the same encounter that people can feel while watching this film. I don’t want people to see Hanami or the Cape Verdean islands as something distant, but rather something that could be very close to them.
RIFF: I think that’s a really nice approach. Regarding that, I wanted to ask especially about the turtles, because, as far as I know, they are important in Japanese culture, but also in Cape Verdean culture, and there are a lot of them in the movie.
DENISE: The film is about how nature influences us. Cape Verde is one of the leading countries in turtle protection. There are wonderful groups, volunteers, and also biologists in Cape Verde that take care of them beautifully. I thought that it was also important to share, not just the nature itself, but also how people take care of nature. The life of a turtle is very interesting, it resembles immigration, because when sea turtles are born, they spend many years outside of their birthplace, in the water, before they eventually come back to the same beach decades later. It makes me think about the Cape Verdean experience of immigration. Many people, after living abroad for many years, decide to come back. Many of them don’t come back, for many different reasons and circumstances, and I found that turtles are not only important in terms of protection, but in terms of a metaphor of life as well. How fierce and fragile at the same time life is. The turtle element was not present in the first versions of the script, but after accidentally meeting some biologists on Pogo Island, where the film originates from, I thought that the turtle aspect is so organic to the story I was writing that it became essential for my film.
RIFF: Yeah, I really like that part a lot. My next question is about filming the movie itself, because most of the cast consists of non-professional actors, and I think that brings authenticity to the film. What’s your experience of working with them? How did this decision shape the story?
DENISE: Working with the non-professional actors was one of the most challenging parts. It was very demanding for me, but also for them. Yet, at the same time, it was the most rewarding part of making the film. The casting, which happened months before shooting, was even more intense. What we did in preparation was important, for example, for Nana's family, we needed them to feel like a real family. When you work with non-professional actors a lot, it's not that I give the script to them, and I say, “Read it, see you tomorrow, let me know what you think”. You don't do that. I think of all the people in the film, only two of them actually read the script, and the others didn’t even need one. The script has a lot of information and they only needed to know who they were and who they were in relation to the other people. For example, Nana needed to know how to feel and behave around her grandma, her uncle, or her cousin. I would explain everything to them as they came on set. Although they had a film outline, I think that they really understood themselves and the story only after they had watched the final product.
RIFF: I wanted to ask about the volcano, because it’s an important part of the movie. Here in Iceland, there are a lot of volcanoes as well. The few volcanoes I visited here were amazing things to see. Do you feel like there’s something inherently cinematic about the volcanic environment? How was it for you when you saw a volcano for the first time?
DENISE: That’s a surprising question, because I never really thought about it, but I do think there is something inherently cinematic to the presence of such a huge figure. When I write a film, I always think about the setting, even if it’s just a house. I think about how environments shape the people and the dynamics. In real life, there are people who live at the foot of this volcano, and the volcano is active; even if eruptions occur every 20 or 30 years, it is still considered an active volcano. When it erupts, it destroys everything, and then people have to rebuild their homes. They continue to do so, because the volcanic soil is very fertile. That’s why people don’t accept the idea of living in a safer place; the volcano may be destructive, but it also gives them everything they need, or most of the things they need. The interesting aspect for me was not just the geological part, but also how it is to live in an environment with such a life-like gift from nature.
RIFF: I was wondering, what was the most challenging, or maybe your favorite moment, while filming?
DENISE: I think the most challenging part was making the film. Not filming, just being on set. There are so many things that you have to figure out or make work while shooting. The process was extremely intense. I think it was demanding because of non-professional actors, and also in general shootings are not a walk in the park, for me, at least. I think for most directors as well. The most beautiful moment for me is when a film survives all the obstacles. Then one day, you see that the film is alive, and somehow it’s a story, because there are so many odds around in all stages. I feel that films are miracles. For me, the best part of making films is bringing into existence something that at some point starts living independently from its creator. People can watch the film, think what they want, and I no longer have any influence here.
RIFF: Is it sometimes a strange feeling, because you make your movie and then the people can watch it, and they can interpret it any way they want to. How does it feel to know that everybody can make their own thing out of it?
DENISE: For me, that is the best outcome, because my film is only a proposal, and then I need a person to decide to watch it, and only then it can become something. Filming doesn’t finish when the film is ready, but when someone watches it. Hopefully, the film stays with the person. In order to stay, you have to make the film special, truly yours. If viewers leave the cinema venue with everything answered or clear, they forget about the film 10 minutes later, and go on with their lives. The best outcome for me is when people, regardless of whether they like the film or not, start talking about it and analyzing it. This means the life of the film is continuing. That’s why I love when people interpret the film in a way I did not fully intend. At least it’s their own way of seeing it. It’s like reading a poem. It would be terrible if poetry had the same answer for everyone. Cinema is something that you share, and then you let people take the film with them in the way they wish.
RIFF: Do you, by any chance, have a favorite Icelandic film or director?
DENISE: Of course! I think Iceland has one of the most beautiful short films ever. For example, there’s Whale Valley by Guðmundur Arnar Guðmundsson. He’s a director who works so well with young characters, and he’s incredible. He writes his own films. This is the first name that comes to my mind.
RIFF: As you might know, in the past few years, RIFF has hosted screenings in some special spaces. What’s the most unusual place or setting that you’ve watched a film in?
DENISE: I don’t think I ever had an “extreme” experience with watching a film. However, I can name one place. I feel a little bit autoreferential, but my film was screened on the same island where we shot it. It was the location of the wedding party scene. We were watching it in the exact place that we had previously transformed into a venue. I think it was quite lovely.
RIFF 2025 takes place in Reykjavík from September 25th to October 5th, join us for 11 days of awarded films, great special events and don’t miss the groundbreak feature film of Denise – Hanami.