First Brazilian Series at Series Mania: Raul Seixas’ Epic Journey

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Weeks following Walter Salles’ groundbreaking “I’m Still Here” becoming the first Brazilian film to win an Oscar, the country maintains its impressive stride with “Raul Seixas: Let Me Sing,” marking the debut of a Brazilian series at France’s Series Mania – Europe’s largest TV event. This innovative project is an original production from Globoplay, the freemium streaming service of media titan Globo, and chronicles the life story of one of Brazil’s most renowned music legends, Raul Seixas.

The eight-episode series titled “Raul Seixas: Let Me Sing” will make its global debut in the International Panorama Competition. It’s competing for awards such as Best Series, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, and the Student Award. The series is a creation of Paulo Morelli, who also co-directs with his son, Pedro Morelli. They work under the production banner O2 Filmes, where Paulo Morelli collaborates with Andrea Barata Ribeiro and Fernando Mereilles.

The eight-episode series “Raul Seixas: Let Me Sing” will first show in the International Panorama Competition. It’s up for several awards including Best Series, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, and the Student Award. This series was made by Paulo Morelli, who also helps direct with his son Pedro Morelli. They make this series under the company O2 Filmes, where Paulo Morelli works with Andrea Barata Ribeiro and Fernando Mereilles.

Ravel Andrade takes on the role of the main character singer, sharing the stage with João Pedro Zappa, Julia Stockler, Chandelly Braz, as well as a guest performance by Julio Andrade, who is known for his role in “Under Pressure”.

In a chat with EbMaster prior to Series Mania, Paulo reminisced about his desire to create a project centered around Seixas over a decade ago. Being an avid admirer of the musician’s work, Paulo initially envisioned the project as a full-length film. He assembled a group of writers and researchers to develop the screenplay, which was later submitted to Globoplay. To their excitement, Globoplay requested a serialized format instead, giving Paulo and his team the opportunity to delve deeper into the story across the eight 45-minute episodes.

Paulo remarked, “He bore some resemblance to Don Quixote, a man who dived headfirst into life.” We utilized this notion to establish the foundation for our tale. Our narrative centers on an author who creates a character as a means of fulfilling his own desires, only to be ultimately swallowed up by this creation. This tragic turn of events results in an untimely death that somehow grants him eternal life.

In the initial stages of the project, which was initially a feature film, the director successfully secured Raul’s life rights from his family, the Seixas family. Throughout the development and production phases, they continued to extend their support to us. “Raul’s family was incredibly generous. One day, I visited Kika’s [Raul’s ex-wife] house with my main researcher, and we spent an entire day going through items from Raul’s trunk – photos, letters, manuscripts… His family never tried to restrict our creativity in any way. They have watched some of the episodes and were deeply moved by them. It felt like a powerful validation of our efforts.

Pedro joined the project after its initial development and played a crucial role in establishing the visual style of the narrative and the casting decisions. For the inexperienced director, it was essential that the lead actor had guitar skills to avoid an unrealistic portrayal.

He further emphasized that they approached the musical aspect of the series with utmost importance. They collaborated with top-notch music producers nationwide, as well as renowned musicians. The actor, Ravel, also put in considerable effort to master his role musically.

Collaborating intimately with a group consisting of producers and audio technicians, Pedro along with the creative team behind the series devised a unique format that blends various sound methods to perfectly suit each scene’s requirements. The melodic segments were meticulously designed using specific techniques, subjected to rigorous testing, and even underwent an extensive pre-production phase emphasizing on sound quality.

A key element of the method devised for the series involved blending Andrade’s voice with Tony Gambel’s, a vocalist well-known for interpreting Seixas’s music who was discovered through nationwide talent searches. Pedro expressed that Tony’s voice was exceptional, and they appreciated it while still aiming to maintain the authenticity of an actor singing live. The mixing approach allowed for a genuine live performance by the actor, capturing any stutters or pauses that might occur. By recording various audio tracks, we could perfectly synchronize their voices with Ravel’s performance, resulting in a seamless and natural blend.

Andrade shared that he played the guitar and sang in the show, explaining to EbMaster, ‘Everything you heard was live performance from the band.’ He emphasized the importance of maintaining high-quality music in the series since Raul, who is an accomplished producer, was also involved.

Andrade, who underwent three rounds of auditions before securing the part, revealed that he delved extensively into the singer’s life to ready himself for the task of portraying him on-screen. “I scrutinized every video I could find online, played his tunes repeatedly, and got closer to him by adopting his thought process. The series work required a lot of physical exertion, but it also demanded a connection with his essence.

Pedro remarked that one major blunder would be to shape the series as a square, given the immense weight of responsibility in portraying such an iconic artist like Raul. As Brazilians who are familiar with him, we couldn’t settle for anything less than a faithful representation of his character. To push ourselves, we sought out elements that were beyond our comfort zone and found ways to express his personality visually and musically. I am extremely proud of how we successfully achieved this in the series.

The actor shares this sentiment, expressing that the amount of work in the series was demanding yet an extraordinary opportunity. “I perform and sing in the show, which mirrors my real-life activities. Just like Raul, I too am an actor. I feel profoundly grateful for having portrayed such a comprehensive artist and learning so much from him.

Pedro notes that “Raul Seixas: Let Me Sing” being the first Brazilian series at Series Mania marks a significant step, as he believes Brazil’s culture is abundant yet rarely showcased globally. The creative team behind the project is excited to leverage this opportunity to share Raul’s world with the world. According to Pedro, it’s not just about expanding the global reach of Brazilian audiovisual content, but also about exposing international audiences to Brazilian music.

Paulo concurs, noting that the show currently airing in France also “resonates with the current era of Brazilian cinema following the achievement of ‘I’m Still Here.'” The director then adds, “A path has been paved, and we are excited to contribute to it.

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2025-03-25 09:47