Andrucha Waddington Born in Rio de Janeiro, Andrucha Waddington became involved in the film industry at 18, working with some of Brazil's most prominent directors. Among other projects, he was Assistant Producer on Hector Babenco's At Play in the Fields of the Lord, and worked on Walter Salles' High Art. In 1999, Waddington released his first feature-length film, Twins. Based on a short story by Brazil's foremost playwright, Nelson Rodrigues, Twins garnered two major awards at the 1999 Brasilia Festival: Best Picture (popular jury) and Best Actress, Fernanda Torres (official jury).

"ME YOU THEM is a film about ordinary human beings in a situation considered absurd by a society that does not accept polygamy," says Waddington, who at 30 is also one of the most successful directors of commercials and music videos in Brazil. "I would say that it's a film about the rules of the game, and how life presents new rules every day. If people want to be happy, they have to adapt themselves to the new rules, even if they have to go through moments of real misery."

Tambellini is one of the most active producers in Brazil. Among his many credits: Ele, o Boto (directed by Walter Lima, Jr.), Faca de Dois Gumes (Murilo Salles), Capitalismo Selvagem (André Klotzel), Jenipapo (Monique Gardemberg), The Oyster and the Wind (Walter Lima, Jr.), Terra Estrangeira (Walter Salles), Orpheus (Carlos Diegues), Um Copo de Cólera (Aluízio Abranches). He also worked on The Emerald Forest (John Boorman), Blame It on Rio (Stanley Donen), Kiss of the Spider Woman (Hector Babenco) and Moon Over Parador (Paul Mazurski). Tambellini participated in the first two feature-length projects from Conspiração Filmes: Betrayal and Twins - and is finishing his first film as a director, Bufo and Spallanzani, based on the bestseller by Rubem Fonseca.

To Tambellini, the most important aspect of production takes place before principal photography begins - a philosophy that held true in the case of ME YOU THEM. "We traveled looking for the best location. We went to Paraíba, Piauí and around Bahia, trying to find a place that would be in the hinterland but also offered an infrastructure. We chose Junco de Salitre not only because it was good for the story, but also because it enabled us to concentrate all locations within the same general area, which we mapped out."

During production, the involvement of local people as manual labor, supporting cast and extras was significant. "Weeks before shooting, we went to Junco do Salitre and started recruiting local people. About one thousand people registered. We used two hundred," explains Tambellini. The locals' functions ranged from working on the sets and doing carpentry to taking part in the dances. "The extras for the parties and the children were from the area, which helps give the film the sense of authenticity that we wanted it to have."

Tambellini adds that since ME YOU THEM is not a technically complicated film, all the elements could be planned in advance. "[Director of photography] Breno Silveira likes natural light, especially at sunset, and worked most of the time with only one camera. The crane was used only three times, and we had a few days of Steadicam." The film owes its extraordinary look to Silveira's uncanny use of natural light in all its colorful modulations, which accounts for the crisp, bright cinematography of ME YOU THEM.

"Because all its details were planned," continues Tambellini, "the production ran smoothly, with principal photography taking up exactly the seven and a half weeks that we had scheduled for it. Our major challenge was to endure the heat, which during the day would go above 106 degrees. For that reason, we offered the cast and crew all possible comforts. And being an isolated area, Junco de Salitre provided a cozy environment - which I'm sure benefited the final result."

Leonardo Monteiro de Barros is an entertainment-industry professional with more than 15 years of experience in Brazil and in Europe. A film and TV producer, de Barros counts three features to his credit: Betrayal, Twins and ME YOU THEM. "We were lucky enough to have a group of investors who understood the originality and quality of ME YOU THEM from the very beginning. We started to raise funds in 1997, and in June of 1999 we were ready to start production. It was very important to be ready to go just then, because the concept of the film required that the area should be dry at that moment. If we hadn't started shooting in June 1999, we would have been forced to delay until June 2000." The window of opportunity for principal photography was limited: "The area has a tremendous vitality," explains de Barros. "In just two weeks from the beginning of the rains, the landscape is covered in green."

Gilberto Gil's involvement as composer and musical director for the soundtrack of ME YOU THEM came about in 1996, during the making of Andrucha Waddington's documentary Gilberto Gil: Tempo Rei, produced by Conspiração Filmes together with Gegê Produções. Waddington had resolved a year earlier to tell the story of Darlene and her three husbands on film, and the subject of this new project would come up in conversation with Gil from time to time. Tempo Rei was shot in two weeks in Bahia's hinterland, next to Ituaçu. Says Waddington, "Gil's connection with the music of this region was essential for the conception of various elements of ME YOU THEM. Furthermore, he made my approach to the hinterland, which for me was a new culture, easier. We talked a lot, and his remarks helped me understand the area and the behavior of the characters."

"I liked the story from day one," says Gil. "The picture tells a beautiful story of love and friendship, especially of friendship as the key element in the dynamic of the love relationship."