# Neon Heart

Neon Heart (Portuguese: Coração de Neon, lit. '"Heart of Neon"') is a 2022 Brazilian drama film written and directed by Lucas Estevan Soares, and produced by Rhaissa Gonçalves. It stars Lucas Soares himself, Ana de Ferro and Wawa Black. In Neon Heart, Fernando (Soares) works with his father delivering romantic messages given as gifts to people all over town on board a telegram service car called Neon Heart.
Neon Heart is the first Brazilian film produced with Dolby Atmos 9.1 technology, which puts the viewer in a "bubble" in which the sound can be emitted from any position, depending on what occurs in the film, allowing the listener to perceive the difference between sounds received from different directions.
The film premiered at the 2022 WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival and was later released theatrically in Brazil on 9 March 2023. It received critical praise in and outside Brazil, and was awarded throughout 2022 at the Moscow, WorldFest Houston and FestCine Pedra Azul international film festivals.
At the 75th Marché du Film, an event held annually in conjunction with the Cannes Film Festival, Neon Heart was cited as "great example of the new Brazilian popular cinema".

## Cast

* Lucas Estevan Soares as Fernando
* Ana de Ferro as Andressa
* Paulo Matos as Lau
* Wawa Black as Dinho
* Wagner Jovanaci as Gomes

## Production

Neon Heart was produced by International House of Cinema (IHC), with executive production of Rhaissa Gonçalves, Lucas Estevan Soares and Mehdi Avdi. IHC financed with its own resources 100% of the budget of R$ 1.5 million ($320,000) employed in the project, captured by its work developed in the United States. Faithful to the style of "guerrilla cinema", the independent production did not use public funding resources.
The feature film was shot in the second half of 2019 in Boqueirão, a neighborhood of the city of Curitiba, with post-production being carried out during the COVID-19 pandemic. First Brazilian film finished with Dolby Atmos technology, the film featured a cast entirely originated in the Curitiba art scene.
The idea for the project arose from the fascination of director Lucas Estevan Soares for singing telegram services, and hence imagine a chase involving one of these vehicles, affectionately called as "Boquelove" in the work, nickname of the Ford Corcel of blue color and year 1975 that gives name to the film.

## Soundtrack

Neon Heart soundtrack features several artists and musical styles, including the film's own production team.
* "Só de Pensar" – Gustavo Andriewiski
* "Olhos ao Chão" – Lucas Estevan Soares
* "Senhor Compositor" – Cacá Ribeiro
* "Tá Sabendo" – P.A & P.H
* "# Boquera" – Lucas Estevan Soares
* "Coração de Neon" – BellaDonna
* "Em Busca Desse Mar" – Lucas Estevan Soares
* "Voa Plena" – Lucas Estevan Soares, Willian San’Per
* "Fui Tempestade" – Lucas Estevan Soares, Jotta Valiente
* "Tô no Pique" – P.A & P.H

## Release

Neon Heart was first shown at the 55th edition of the Houston International Film Festival (WorldFest Houston), being awarded the Remi Trophy (Special Jury Award). After participating in film festivals in North America, Europe and Asia, he landed in Brazil at FestCine Pedra Azul, where he was also awarded.
Before entering the Brazilian commercial circuit, the feature film had a premiere at Teatro Positivo, in Curitiba, on March 5, 2023. The national premiere took place on March 9, 2023, with exhibition in 150 theaters around the country, and in April of the same year premiered in Argentina and Uruguay.

## Reception

At the 75th Marché du Film, Neon Heart was cited for the peculiarities "that qualify it between the art genre and the popular one", besides being appointed as representative of the "new Brazilian popular cinema".
Rolling Stone Brazil welcomed the "change of scenery", noting that it "takes the viewer away from scenarios already known by national cinema as São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, and flees the cliché presenting a 'hidden' Curitiba and full of life in its suburbs.".
Exame Magazine highlighted the photograph: "Whether in the colors of the car, in the takes in the dark or even during the sunset, everything looks quite alive".
Cinepop awarded the film 4 stars (out of 5 possible), defining it as "a powerful drama that in a simple way, nothing inventive, presents its facts and developments of breaking a utopia and discovering other ways in knowing how to live".
Forum Magazine stated that "the film also corrects the way it portrays gender-motivated violence and how it contaminates society as a whole, but especially how it transforms – in a negative way – the lives of all those who live in the victim's universe. Nobody gets away with it.".
Among the review aggregators IMDb records, for the film, note "7,6 / 10", and AdoroCinema, "3,7 / 5".

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result |
| 2022 | 55$^o$ WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival | Remi Trophy (Special Jury Award) | Neon Heart | Won |
| 2022 | 24$^o$ RiverRun International Film Festival | RiverRun Audience Award | Neon Heart | Nominated |
| 2022 | 19$^o$ Big Apple Film Festival and Screenplay Competition (BAFF) | Best Feature Film | Neon Heart | Semi-finalist |
| 2022 | 11$^o$ Carmarthen Bay Film Festival (CBFF) | Feature Film | Neon Heart | Nominated |
| 2022 | Tokyo Lift-Off Film Festival | | Neon Heart | Nominated |
| 2022 | 44$^o$ Moscow International Film Festival | Best Foreign Language Feature | Neon Heart | Won |
| 2022 | 5$^o$ FestCine Pedra Azul International Film Festival | Feature Film | Neon Heart | Won |
| 2022 | 5$^o$ FestCine Pedra Azul International Film Festival | Film Director | Lucas Estevan Soares | Won |
| 2022 | 5$^o$ FestCine Pedra Azul International Film Festival | Screenwriter | Lucas Estevan Soares | Won |
| 2022 | 5$^o$ FestCine Pedra Azul International Film Festival | Actress | Ana de Ferro | Nominated |
| 2022 | 5$^o$ FestCine Pedra Azul International Film Festival | Actor | Lucas Estevan Soares | Nominated |
| 2022 | 5$^o$ FestCine Pedra Azul International Film Festival | Cinematographer | Eduardo Ribeiro | Nominated |
| 2022 | 31$^o$ Cinequest Film & VR Festival | Drama | Neon Heart | Finalist |
| 2022 | 5$^o$ Nòt Film Fest | Shooting Star Features | Neon Heart | Nominated |
| 2022 | 12$^o$ Balneário Camboriú International Film Festival (BCIFF) | Features – Bilo Prize | Neon Heart | Nominated |