Tiago Mesquita: “Having a paintbrush in your hand, or a pen to write with, or a camera to film with can be a very positive weapon"

You're a film director and producer, but in 1993 you started your law degree.

Yes, I went to Católica Law School to study law. The truth is that it wasn't until I started studying law that I realised I really needed to explore my more creative side. However, even during my time at law school I was able to apply what I loved most. I remember that, at one point, I was given the task of doing what was known as a "saw", a kind of theatre play with the professors that was done in the fifth year of the course. Instead of theatre, I made a feature film. A very long film, in fact. It was something more or less serious (laughs), because I worked on it for half a year, made my classmates be actors and even got sponsorship from a small television production company, ending with a screening in the auditorium of the Vilar Seminary, which had a great room and was able to accommodate the hundreds of people who came to see our film.

What has influenced and stimulated your more creative and artsy side?

My family always encouraged me to create, to make short films, to invent stories. In fact, the main memories of my childhood are precisely related to what I do now. As a kid, I always wanted to play with everything to do with projection, with Chinese shadows and flares. So everything to do with light, shadows, sound, audiovisuals and music has always fascinated me. I've always liked making up stories. My mother was always writing theatre too and we were the actors in her creations. I grew up surrounded by this creative explosion of imagination.

What were the most memorable moments of your years at Católica?

At Católica, the most important moment that marked my life forever was meeting my wife. It's inevitable that I mention this (laughs). It was a very beautiful story that spanned practically the entire course, involving poetry, anonymous letters, many friends helping to win her over. But it was also a relationship marked by the distance of various countries and stays, travelling, dances and an immense amount of belief and persistence. My Erasmus in Paris also marked my journey profoundly, as did being president of the course committee and being a member of the Students' Association. I've always been driven by the desire to make a difference and to bring something inspiring to people, and there was room for that at Católica. I have very funny and happy memories. Because they knew I was creative and had different ideas, they made me the minister for "Love". Basically, in the Students' Association, I had the job of thinking about people, organising actions to mobilise, integrate, show solidarity and pay attention to the people who needed it most and encourage others to do so. I always brought a lot of humour during the year, I liked to think about creative marketing, communication, image and I loved to provoke some overly conservative leanings. I would venture to say sometimes pseudo-conservative, which was only evident in some of my colleagues at the time, but not the majority.

Although he had always nurtured his creative side, he finished his degree and went on to study law ...

In fact, the idea of working professionally in the film industry was already beginning to cross my mind, but I still went down the law route. At the end of the course, I got a scholarship to the College of Europe and off I went. I never stopped exploring my creative side and so, during my time in Brugge, I dedicated myself to producing a film called "The art of being Portuguese in Brugge", inspired by Teixeira de Pascoaes' Arte de Ser Português, but, of course, there was practically nothing similar about it, just the name (laughs). It was about the burlesque and comical story that one day the whole world was going to become Portuguese, so that they could enjoy the unique advantages of this nationality, the state of mind, the charm, etc.

"The fact that I had some brilliant teachers instilled in me this desire to argue and negotiate."

After the College of Europe, you went to the United States to study cinema ...

Yes, but first I worked at the European Commission. Only then did I go to the United States. I met John Malkovich in a film he directed, in which I had a small part. From this work we developed a good relationship and he ended up writing me some letters of recommendation that opened doors for me in Los Angeles.  I ended up getting a scholarship to study film at the Los Angeles Films School. By then I already had some technical baggage from all the experiences I'd had and I was also doing my own projects, some films and short films. I've always been fascinated by American cinema, so I had no doubts about whether to stay in Europe or go to the United States. I stuck to it with enormous passion.

He currently lives in Brussels. It was in Brussels that he set up his own production company.

Precisely. I have a visual film studio, with all kinds of infrastructure for filming, producing cinema, also with a studio for virtual cinema, complete post-production infrastructure, visual effects, image, sound, editing, studio for recording music, make-up, props, design, wardrobe - (covering film production from A to Z, currently with a strong focus on the latest technologies, combined with the art of traditional cinema and a lot of international and American cinema).  We offer a very comprehensive service. We cover historical filming: ancient Rome, Greece, Egypt, medieval and even futuristic times, action cinema, etc.

Has it always been important to you to get to know all the dimensions of cinema?

Yes, that's always been my priority. I'm a producer and director, above all, but with a very strong technical background. I wanted to know everything and I wanted to deeply understand all the techniques behind cinema. I've been through it all and that's what makes me able to offer an A to Z service at my production company today. The idea of cinema is the collaboration of all dimensions. Cinema is, by its very nature, deeply collaborative.

"A leader is only a leader when he serves others."

How do you connect the law to what you do today?

One of the things that law brought me, through my various international experiences, was this broad view of the world. This side of diplomacy and international relations and knowledge of EU institutions has influenced me a lot. It has also influenced some of the themes of the scripts I write. Another aspect in which law helps me is undoubtedly the formal aspects, such as contracts and negotiations. The fact that I had some brilliant teachers instilled in me this desire to argue and negotiate. It helps me a lot in negotiations to convince people. I've easily managed to convince well-known actors to work on some of my films, when there wasn't even a reasonable budget to convince them.

How did you do that?

I realised that there could be many reasons, apart from the budget, to convince actors to be in our films. One tactic we used a lot was to try to get an initial deal with a very established actor who had won an Oscar or had been nominated. Once we have this agreement, it's much easier to convince younger actors, because everyone wants to work with someone of that calibre. I've had the chance to work with some absolutely incredible actors, some who have won Oscars and some who haven't. Alan Arkin, Bruce Dern, James Earl Jones, David Spade and also some more controversial actors like Steven Seagal, Lindsay Lohan and others.

What fascinates you about your profession?

The innocence of continuing to believe that it is possible to make a difference and inspire. Some more conservative filmmakers will say that the mission of someone who makes a film is not to inspire or influence at all. I don't agree. I believe that it is, that there is enormous power. Having a paintbrush in your hand, or a pen to write with, or a camera to film with can be a very positive weapon. If used well, of course. I believe that our mission, as filmmakers, can also be to make a difference. Entertainment, yes, but also sharing, showing something new, teaching - history, for example - and giving encouragement. Which is not to say that a good film provides all the answers. On the contrary. A good film makes a difference because it asks the good questions, rather than giving the answers, which may lead the audience, or part of the audience, to come to conclusions, sometimes very profound and shattering.

You take on many leadership roles in your profession. What makes a good leader?

Being a good leader means being a leader by serving others. If I think I want to lead so that everyone serves me, it's not going to work. It's just the opposite. I am a leader when I serve others. There were many people from Católica who inspired me on this level, because they had precisely this vision. My best filming days are always those where I've managed to focus on giving the best time to people, so that everyone gives their best and feels exhilarated by it. Of course, this sometimes comes at the cost of feeling good ourselves. But that's how I see a leader. A leader is only a leader when they serve others.

Projects for the future?

Now I'm concentrating on the film of the story of Inês de Castro. I have a great fascination with history. It's a beautiful episode in Portuguese history and, although there have been several films made about it in Portugal, it's not well known abroad. I'm investing a lot of time in making an English-language version with an international cast. Some even say that it was the story of Inês de Castro that inspired Shakespeare to create Romeo and Juliet. I'm also working on a film based on the terrorist attacks at Belgium Airport, which happened here a few years ago. I interviewed some of the victims who survived and was at the airport accompanying police officers for a year.  Based on this, I wrote a script that necessarily had to have some fictional elements, so as not to invade the victims' privacy, but is deeply based on real facts. There's hardly a week when I don't have a strong idea. One of the things I've learnt is that you can never leave an idea in your head, you have to point it out straight away so that you don't forget it. That's what I do. Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night with good ideas and I'll write them down straight away.

"There's an absolutely exceptional balance in being Portuguese."

What's your dream?

My ideal? To be able to create and share beauty in my everyday life. I think that's what real artists can do. They can look at the same reality, even if it's rubbish in the street, and see something beautiful, and sharing that vision can inspire others. My goal with what I do today is to create beauty and pass it on.

As a Portuguese who has lived away from Portugal for so many years, what do you miss most?

I think there's an art to being Portuguese outside Portugal. That's what I've been trying to do. I've been away from Portugal for many years, but I think I've always tried to do it spontaneously. What I've realised over so many years abroad and over so much contact with other nationalities is that there's something very balanced about being Portuguese. We have a very particular warmth and friendliness. There's an absolutely exceptional balance in being Portuguese.