The Meaning of Life
PRODUCTION DESIGN As the investigation into the purpose of existence is long and constant, the shooting of THE MEANING OF LIFE follows its own rhythm. Our protagonist has just found out he suffers from an incurable disease. While his finite nature becomes palpable, an urge to travel the world, meet new people, experience new landscapes, find himself, and discover the meaning of it all, is born. Together with a small filming crew, our hero embarks on a voyage around the world. With the exception of the flight from Sao Paulo to Lisbon, the whole trip will be made by land or water, allowing us to perceive the changes in landscape, climate, and physiognomies. This will be an eight-month adventure. We start in Sao Paulo, travel across Europe, dive into the African continent via the Nile, cross the Middle East. India, South East Asia, China, and Japan. Our net stop is the USA and after that, we hit the road traveling south to reach the farthest point of the continent where our hero hops on a boat headed to his final destination, Antarctica. While our hero has his journey of self-discovery, we talk to famous people; public and influential figures who are also searching for the meaning of life, and who will openly discuss private aspects of their lives. Seven pairs of personalities. Seven archetypes from the most diverse parts of the world. Seven composers from different sound contexts. All of them will be interviewed and accompanied by Miguel Gonçalves Mendes in multiple meetings. The documentary THE MEANING OF LIFE will be composed of this collage, which is the result of almost two years of filming.
