by Oleksii Didihurov

At the European premiere of "High Tide" during BFI Flare LGBTQIA+ Film Festival last weekend, director Marco Calvani and lead actor Marco Pigossi took the stage for a candid post-screening Q&A that unfolded like a conversation between two artists deeply connected by their work and shared journey.

The film, which premiered at SXSW in 2023 and has since screened in the U.S. and Brazil, marks Calvani's feature debut. It explores themes of immigration, identity, intimacy, and the search for belonging, set against the coastal stillness of Provincetown. Rather than focusing on dramatic twists, the narrative lingers in small moments, silent routines, passing conversations, and the kind of intimacy that often goes unspoken.

High Tide invites viewers into a world stripped of noise, where silence, routine, and restraint speak louder than words. Marco Pigossi delivers a standout performance, portraying vulnerability and quiet resilience with striking honesty. His presence anchors the film with emotional depth that feels both raw and lived-in.

Calvani’s direction is subtle yet powerful. Every shot feels intentional, drawing out the emotional texture of each scene without needing to explain. The cinematography is rich with atmosphere, capturing both the isolation of the seaside town and the inner world of its characters. The film’s visual rhythm is slow and deliberate. Every frame feels considered. The sound design, the silences, and the understated score all contribute to the immersive tone.

In the Q&A, Calvani shared how the project evolved from personal reflection to a fully realized story of emotional reckoning. "I’ve been a queer man all my life and a storyteller for most of it, but I never put queer characters at the centre of my stories until this film," he said. "It never occurred to me to use my voice, my privilege, my space to represent my own community. Only after finishing the film did I realise I had been carrying a lot of internalised homophobia."

Provincetown, he explained, wasn’t the original setting. Isolation during lockdown shifted the story. "The more time I spent there, the more it became clear the story was unfolding in Provincetown. The landscape reflected the character’s emotional journey."

Pigossi, who plays the central character Lourenco, said he deeply connected to the role. "There’s a lot of me in Lorenzo. I moved to the U.S. in 2018, and those feelings of solitude, fear, and vulnerability were very real for me. Especially as a Latino, gay immigrant, it’s like you’re constantly apologising for existing."

The pair, who are married in real life, discussed how their relationship shaped the creative process. Calvani, who had already written most of the script before meeting Pigossi, realized early on that the character he was writing was, in many ways, Pigossi himself. "Art started imitating life. Or maybe the other way around."

Pigossi also spoke about his personal process of coming out and how the film aligned with that journey. "Before this, I had never played a gay character. In Brazil, I was always the good guy everyone wanted to marry. But I needed to step away from that public image and be honest with myself."

Religion and internalised shame were key elements explored in the film. "You lie to survive, but lying is also a sin," Pigossi explained. "So you end up trapped. Lorenzo is trying to break free from that. That was true for me too."

When asked about Lourenco’s emotional arc, Calvani explained, "He makes bold decisions, but he doesn’t have many tools. He hasn’t had many experiences, so he makes himself vulnerable. I wanted the viewer to feel how people and emotions wash in and out of his life like tides. Each wave brings something and then leaves."

Pigossi added, "He’s scared of intimacy. So many of our connections today are digital, fast, and surface-level. When something real shows up, we don’t always know how to handle it."

High Tide doesn’t push for resolution. It allows space for uncertainty and invites reflection. "I wanted to write something that celebrates patience, slowness, and connection - values rarely honoured in the society I live in," Calvani said. "Even within queer communities, we’re expected to act a certain way. With this story, I wanted to break away from that."

The writing touches on themes like displacement, queer identity, emotional survival, and the personal nature of migration - not as a legal or political concept, but as a private experience shaped by memory and longing. High Tide is a quiet triumph in restrained storytelling. It rewards viewers who are willing to sit with discomfort, to feel rather than be told.

Marco Calvani has created something rare - a film that values emotional depth over exposition, presence over performance. High Tide is not just a story of loss. It is about endurance, connection, and the quiet strength of healing. A film that stays with you long after it ends.

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