Silk Dress Zero + Maria Cornejo

Hi Alice. How are you? I’m very good, thank you. How are you? Great. I’ve been trying to reach you for two days. Oh I know, I’m so sorry. They told me that you tried to call me. I think there was something wrong with my phone. You’re in Sao Paulo, right? Yes, we’ve been traveling a lot for the past two years, going back and forth between LA and Sao Paulo. But my home is here in Sao Paulo. Here’s the question everyone asks. Are you close to your aunt Sonia Braga and was she the reason you got into acting? (laughs) Yes, I am close to her, of course, but my aunt moved to New York a long time ago, when I was a baby. But she gives me a lot of advice by email and telephone. So it sounds like you charted your own course as an actress? Well, yes, but the acting was started through my mother. Yes, I was in school plays, and I took theater classes. But I was also surrounded with that environment. My mom used to work in commercials so I used to visit her on set. With this connection I did auditions for theater. Ah, so it’s all your mom’s fault, then? Yes! When I was still in high school Meirelles gave me a part in City of God. So what’s it like in Sao Paulo for film professionals or even film buffs? Are you and Fernando part of a film society? Are you just friends? No, I think it’s pretty informal, this group of friends and loose connections to the film business. When Fernando invited me to act in City of God I was 18. He wanted someone who wasn’t well known, for credibility. I was still in high school then. Fernando and I have a good friendship.