Gabriella Spacciari was always fascinated with acting. Growing up in a small town in the south of Brazil, she used to imitate her idols and favorite characters she saw on the screen. Now, she is the one on the screen.

Spacciari has a starring role in the film Red (also known as Vermelho). The film, which originally premiered at the Madalena Festival de Cinema at São Paulo in June, is being shown at the New York Jazz Film Festival this month.

“It was an amazing surprise to go to the New York Jazz Film Festival, especially after one year of living in the United States. It’s like starting your career again. It is a gift to have a project that I did back home selected to a film festival in Manhattan. I’m going to New York for the first time to check it out. It’s going to be an unforgettable experience,” said Spacciari.

The film Red is about Ana, played by Spacciari. While under narcotic substances, Ana tries to commit suicide.

“The film is very poetic and I needed to go deep into the scenes to convey in just a few seconds all the pain that is to be cheated and the depression and self-destruction that lead us to make decisions that can bring us serious consequences,” she said.

The film was written and directed by Guilherme (Guily) Machovec Rahner. He had Spacciari in mind for the role while writing, and knew she would be able to portray Ana the way he envisioned. He describes her as very important to the success of the film.

“Gabriella is a very deep actress. Besides the fact that the camera loves her, the emotional range required to go into the circumstances of the scene made it easy to work with her.  The scenes had a high emotional stake and her concentration kept uptake by take,” he said. “I loved working with her, she is a very committed and talented actress. It was a very demanding role, but it seemed effortless for her. I look forward to working with her again as soon as the opportunity arrives.”

Spacciari agrees that they make a good team. Machovec Rahner, who teaches and produces at Operahauss in São Paulo, met each Spacciari through another producer, and knew she was the right person for his film.

“Guily said he thought about me while writing the film,” said Spacciari. “It was a very special gift to play this role.”

Spacciari has a life full of experience. Also a model, she decided to get into acting at a young age when she enrolled in the theater group in her home town. She relocated to São Paulo when she was just sixteen to pursue my career further.

“The theater group was very small. The director used to write and produce. He emphasized the importance of the classics and had us read them,” described Spacciari. “It was very important to me to understand the work of the artist – not from the glamour, but from the stage work.”

Since that time, Spacciari has had a variety of roles that explore her versatility as an actress. She was in the film Julia that premiered at 8o. CineFantasy, and Aluga-se o Ponto, which was nominated for the Prize FICC for Audiovisual at Campinas
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“I think the most difficult thing about acting is to deal always hearing the word “no”. But you have to just keep practicing your technique, cultivating good friendships, communicating with other artists, and making art,” she said.

Spacciari also has a successful modelling career, and has appeared in a variety of successful commercial campaigns, including Cultura Inglesa and Quem Disse Berenice. She was also in a multi-national Pepsi commercial.

“Acting is the art that deals with the intricate and wonderful condition that is human nature,” she concluded. “I think nowadays we are so full of information that acting is a powerful way to combat this, through sensibility.”

You can view the trailer for Red here.