My experience of moving from São Paulo, Brazil, to New York was both a loss and a reclamation of my cultural identity. In making this film, I set out to examine the differences between American and Brazilian cinema, creating a piece that lives in the space between. Playing the lead was part of that challenge. As “Felipe,” I could process my own emotions as an international student living on borrowed time, confronting the same dilemmas I now face in real life. The film became both an artistic statement and a personal preparation for the uncertain road ahead.