Director of ‘Funk Rave’, Anitta’s music video that won VMA, has already worked on works by Milton Nascimento, Criolo and Emicida

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‘Funk Rave’ was considered best Latin video at the American awards and was directed by two Brazilians, Ricardo Souza and João Wainer. Ricardo Souza and Anitta recording ‘Used To Be’ Personal archive/Ricardo Souza Until he was 20 years old, Ricardo Souza had never seen a camera up close. Much less the ones he used recently to record Anitta’s three most recent clips — ”Funk Rave”, “Casi Casi” and “Used To Be” —, now aged 41. The role of director in a project with an international dimension like this seemed too far from the neighborhood in the extreme south of São Paulo, where he grew up. The filmmaker says that, on the set of “Funk Rave”, he remembered his childhood when he saw the favela football pitch. Producer and filmmaker Ricardo Souza Personal archive/Ricardo Souza “I came from a poor, violent neighborhood. That little field was exactly like the one I played on”, says the son of a saleswoman mother and unknown father. He followed his mother’s path, working in a clothing store, until he was asked to be a driver for a production company, during the recording of a TV series. Between one delivery of tapes and another, he would ask an operator at the technical center to explain what that equipment did. Anitta in the video for ‘Funk rave’ Disclosure “I was there enchanted, learning: ‘this is SDI. This here is a composite signal. This is a digital beta, this is an analog beta. This is an ICT’. Then he started teaching me how to sound,” he recalls. It was his interest that made the channel’s executive editor call him to work on the series’ post-production. He accepted and quickly became editor and finisher of the project, even without having completed elementary school. Ricardo stopped in the seventh grade. “In the early 2000s, I couldn’t go to film school, I didn’t have an audiovisual course, I didn’t even have YouTube. I learned in the race, in practice, without having any reference.” Lights, camera, action After entering the audiovisual sector, migrating from one production company to another, Ricardo ended up in the mouths of artists. Firstly, as an executive producer of fashion films and exhibited projects at SPFW, São Paulo Fashion Week. From the catwalk, he began working in advertisements and music videos. These varied between artists from the independent scene and canonical names such as Milton Nascimento. Ricardo Souza and Anitta recording the clip ‘Casi Casi’ Personal archive/Ricardo Souza He was in the post-production of “Cais” and “Não Existe Amor em SP”, partnerships between Milton, Amaro Freitas and Criolo. In 2021, he returned to work with the rapper, on “Sistema Obtuso”, which also features the electronic duo Tropkillaz. And this year, in “Black People Making Money Bothers Too Much”. Another rapper Ricardo worked with is Emicida, in the documentary “Emicida: Amarelo – É Tudo Pra Yesterday” and in the clips for “Pequenas Alegrias Da Vida Adulta” and “Libre”. Favela Love Story In “Funk Rave”, the filmmaker shared the direction with a giant: João Wainer, the award-winning photojournalist and filmmaker, grandson of Samuel Wainer, one of the most important names in the Brazilian press. Anitta’s family celebrates award at VMA 2023 “Ricardo is very talented, he has an incredible trajectory. The fun is just beginning”, says the co-director. “We’re going to see Ricardo shine a lot.” The clip, which won the award for Best Latin Music Video at the VMA (Video Music Awards), had an all-Brazilian team. It was recorded in a favela in the west of Rio de Janeiro and mixes Spanish, English and Portuguese, as well as reggaeton and funk. Weekend in the hood When he agreed to join the singer’s project, Ricardo didn’t know, of course, that he was about to win the VMA statuette. But he already knew what he was getting into. It was Anitta, the most successful pop singer in the country. Full of references to the daily life of Brazilian favelas, the video for “Funk Rave” would be, as indicated from the beginning, another bet by Rio on the foreign public. Ricardo Souza and João Wainer recording Anitta’s music video Personal archive/Ricardo Souza To put the spotlight on peripheral Brazil, Ricardo then combined Anitta’s whirlwind of ideas with his own memories. “‘Funk Rave’ is a weekend in the hood,” he says. Pagoda rolling loose, mouth-watering barbecue and girls braiding hair in the street are some of the scenes that, according to him, give the peripheral tone that was necessary to the work. The directors also brought allusions to the 2000s and were inspired by “City of God” — from the color palette to the scenic objects. Oral sex in ‘Funk Rave’ Even before it was released, the clip became a recurring topic on social media. Leaked images showed an oral sex scene that became the target of praise, criticism and analysis. There are those who accuse the work of encouraging sexual tourism and endorsing racist stereotypes. The argument is that “Funk Rave” would be based on a wave of imagery that objectifies black and poor people, these being the vast majority of the clip. Ricardo denies that the video is racist, erotic or mere “exploitation of bodies”. He also reinforces that the diversity of the cast was one of his main demands — and which Anitta would have easily accepted. Funk generation In addition to “Funk Rave”, the filmmaker also directed the clips for “Casi Casi” and “Used To Be”, which, like the hit, is part of the EP “Funk Generation: A Favela Love Story”, by Anitta . Like a film trilogy, the clips talk to each other. Her scripts, immersed in humor, romance and sex, follow a chronological line in which the singer plays a character coveted by everyone around her. Cover of ‘Funk generation – A favela love story’, album by Anitta Divulgação A resident of a favela, the protagonist experiences leisure activities — such as bathing with a hose under the scorching sun — and vulnerability to urban violence. Consolidating the Latin image that Anitta has exported since “Girl from Rio”, the album’s songs mix Rio beats, funk melody, reggatton, EDM and American pop. “She’s a machine. She gets where she wants,” says Ricardo, praising her. Even though the work with her was the biggest — and most recognized — of his career, the director says he doesn’t see himself at the top. “Anitta is opening many doors for me, but I want more. I will seize new opportunities and do my best.” Now, he says, the dream is to be at the forefront of international music videos.

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