Prémios Awards
Novos Talentos FNAC, Portugal 2024 (sem exibição)

Director’s Statement
As a young filmmaker, my ideas always seemed too big for the small screen. I’ve always been a dreamer, captivated by science fiction and fantasy—realities that only cinema can fully bring to life. Determined to prove that aliens, outer space, and spaceships can exist in movies without a big budget or special effects, I set out to create just that. When my professor challenged me to create a film blending the arts of theatre and cinema, I saw my chance. After all, some of the most inventive filmmakers in history borrowed directly from the stage, such as Georges Méliès and the pioneers of German Expressionism. I began by selecting the music, as it would set the film’s pace, to mimic the style of silent cinema. Though ‘Voyager 1’ is a sci-fi fantasy short, it tells a deeply personal story. At the time, I felt creatively drained by a 9-to-5 job. Like Melius, my protagonist, I longed for escape. Melius takes the opportunity of escaping their monotonous job as a star polisher to explore new planets, far from their tyrannical ruler… or boss! As my first film, this was a truly rewarding experience that I got to share with my family. I didn’t have the support of a big studio, but I had my parents (who puppeteered and shot the film), my sister (who co-starred alongside me), and my grandmother (who operated a simple lamp in our “studio”—my childhood bedroom). As a tribute to cinema’s magic, boundless imagination, and students’ ambition on a shoestring, I hope this film inspires you as much as it inspired me.