"The Way He Looks" has been making headlines throughout the world.

The film first made its world premiere at the Berlin Film Festival, where it won the Teddy Award and later went to numerous festivals such as Outfest and Newfest and won top awards. The film was later picked up by Strand releasing for U.S. distribution and Brazil submitted it as the official selection for the 2015 Academy Awards.

The drama marks the feature film debut for Daniel Ribeiro, who had previously directed the award-winning short "Café Com Leite." He later directed another short based on the feature "Eu Não Quero Voltar Sozinho," which also won a number of awards at festivals and went on to become a Youtube sensation.

After a long journey, Ribeiro took some time to speak with Latin Post about his experience making the feature.

Latin Post: What was your reaction when you heard the "The Way He Looks" was Brazil's official submission for the Academy Awards?

Daniel Ribeiro: I was very excited because it's an independent film. It was very hard to think it would be the official submission because it is not a very difficult film. It's not the type that Brazil usually submits. So I was very excited.

LP: When did you first start writing the script to the film?

DR: I did the short film in 2010, which was called "Eu Não Quero Voltar Sozinho" before the feature. So that was the starting point. I wrote the short in 2009 and the first draft of the feature I wrote in 2010. So that's where it started. And then, until 2013, I was always writing. Sometimes I wanted to change it and I couldn't stop thinking about it and I was going back to the script. So it was about two to three years between the first draft and the final one.

LP: How much of the script changed after the short film?

DR: The first draft of the feature was very similar to the short. The themes were the same. Because the short was so popular on Youtube, a lot of people had seen it, I knew I needed to change some things. It had to be surprising because a lot of people had seen it, especially in Brazil. So I couldn't make another movie that was the same thing. So, a lot of things changed, but in a way, I had to keep the soul of the film there. So I kept some elements of the short. For example, the hoody in the short, it has a meaning and in the feature, it's also there. The stolen kiss, it happened in one way in the short and in the feature in another way. I tried to keep some things from the short so people who like the short would fuse the connection between the two films.

LP: You had three talented actors, Tess Amorim, Ghilherme Lobo and Fabio Audi that were both in the short film and the feature. Can you tell me about the casting process and were they always going to be in the feature?

DR: We had a regular casting process in the short. So we started with Ghilherme. He was really young, he was 13. From the casting, he was already doing the blindness of the character and that was very impressive. So we cast him. And then he read with Tess and they had amazing chemistry and then afterward we saw Fabio. He read with them and he was also perfect.

To me, the casting process is very important and to a lot of people. I knew I had the perfect cast with the perfect chemistry. And when I saw them in the short, I knew it would be great to have them in the feature. So I was always talking to them between the three years that went by and always looking to see if they had grown too much. After the short, I knew I wanted to keep them. I knew I had a special cast.

LP: What was different about working with them the second time around?

DR: It was not very different. We had more time to focus and dedicate to the feature. The short was really a good training ground. We had a great rehearsal process for two weeks. I really enjoyed that. So I repeated that in the feature. It was important because we had more experience, but it was good for them, and me, too. In the big picture, it did not change a lot. What changed was the script because I adapted their age to the script. So there is more sexuality and the body is more exposed in the feature than it was in the short, so that was what changed.

LP: Was the film autobiographical in any way?

DR: I think, in a way, it is. The story is very universal. He falls in love for the first time and he is wondering what his kiss is going to be. It is personal because I went through that. Of course there is an adaptation, being blind. I had a best friend and then there was this guy who came into the school and we became boyfriends. So, in a way, it is part of my story. I don't have a special story, but it is very universal. That is why many people identify with the story, because it is very common.

LP: Your musical choices are extremely diverse. You use Belle and Sebastian's "There's so much love," and music by Arvo Part and Schubert. Can you tell me about that and how you went about choosing the music?

DR: Because the character is interested in classical music, there are some scenes that we needed classical music. Belle and Sebastian is one of my favorite bands, so I had to choose a song that had to be the couple's song. I knew it had to be from them. I like the melancholic tone of their songs and I think "There's so much love" sets the tone for their relationship. So that was really important. The rest of the music was in a way an accident, although the classical music was supposed to be in the movie. While we were shooting the movie, the editor was editing it. So he was always choosing some songs as reference points because we were going to create an original soundtrack for the movie. But he chose the Arvo Part and the Schubert. Then when I saw the first cut, I said 'This is perfect.' But not only that music, the Marvin Gay and the national songs. When I saw the cut, I thought there was some personality to the soundtrack. So I decided to keep that and not write an original soundtrack. It was very special.

LP: What were the biggest challenges of making this film?

DR: I think it was the regular challenge of making a movie, trying to get the money for it because it takes a long time. There were some technical difficulties, because in one scene, it started raining. The scene in the pool, we only had one day to shoot in that location and it rained a lot that day. There were helicopters going by and that was also a challenge. The rest was easier. For example, working with a teenager actor who had to be blind and was not in real life, I thought that was going to be difficult. But Ghilherme is really good. So the team was really good because they were very excited about doing the movie. The actors were also very excited about doing the movie. The crew was very supportive and made it really easy to work with.

LP: Speaking of the crew, what did you guys shoot on and what was your process with your cinematographer?

DR: We shot on the RED and I worked with the same cinematographer since my first short film. We have a great relationship. We're always exchanging ideas and thinking about the way things should be. And he is very talented. We usually didn't have wide shots and decided on more closed shots because we wanted to capture the experience of a blind person. Although he can hear everything, he cannot see it. So we wanted to have a limited perception of what was going [on] around [him]. So we decided to use shots that were not very wide. That was the cinematographer's idea to keep it very close to them.

LP: What are your fondest moments making this film and what will you take away from it?

DR: I think everything was very special. I really liked rehearsing with the actors. I think that's something that really excites me. I like the process with the actors because it brings the script to life. When you're writing, it's really lonely, but when you bring in actors, it comes to life. But also on the set, it's really exciting, especially with this crew that was very excited to do the movie. It was also fun seeing the actors and the movie come alive. That is something I will always treasure.

LP: When the film first opened in Brazil, what was the reaction?

DR: It was very well received in Brazil, which was very surprising. It was Number One at the box office and we opened with four blockbusters. It was really well received and the reviews were also very supportive of the film. I think because it's a very universal story and it talks about an issue that is very problematic in Brazil. We still have a lot of problems with gay rights, gay violence and homophobia. So I think because of what is going on at the moment, it was a very supportive response.

LP: The film has travelled all over the world, and now it is opening in the U.S. What do you hope people will take away from it when they leave theaters?

DR: I think they will see how alike we all are, even though we're very different from each other. We are very specific and we can be gay, straight, blind, but at the same time, we have those human feelings and we all look for relationships and friendships. And, in the end, we are all the same. That is the message, in a way.

LP: What's your next project?

DR: I don't have one right now because I travelled so much with this movie. It was such a surprise because we never expected it to be that big. So I have been traveling this year. So I have two projects that I want to do, but I still don't know what will be my next project.

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