Interview with Elder Fraga is a prolific Brazilian director, producer, and screenwriter with a rich portfolio of feature films and short

Filmmaker Biography:
Elder Fraga is a prolific Brazilian director, producer, and screenwriter with a rich portfolio of feature films and shorts. Founder of Fraga Films, his work frequently delves into human struggle, athletic triumph, and community spirit. His feature documentary Ninguém é Campeão Sozinho earned a nomination for Best Documentary Feature.

https://fragafilms.com.br/ninguem-e-campeao-sozinho/ 

https://www.imdb.com/pt/name/nm1930314/ 

1. The title asserts that “no one is a champion alone.” How does this philosophy guide the story told in your feature documentary?

The title was born from the story of Carlos Pierin, known as Lalá.

When I learned about his journey, I realized that we were looking at a man who fulfilled his dream of playing for Santos Futebol Clube during one of the most extraordinary periods in the history of Brazilian football. He played alongside Pelé, Pepe, Coutinho, Zito, and many other great players. But a journey like that is never built by one person alone.

A goalkeeper can make a decisive save and a striker can score the winning goal, but there is always an entire team behind that moment: teammates, coaches, family members, people who believed in that player, and all the circumstances that allowed that dream to become reality.

That is exactly what the film tries to show. Lalá was a champion, but he did not become one alone.

And I believe this idea goes beyond football. It also speaks about life. All of our achievements, in one way or another, carry the participation of other people.

2. What drew you to this subject, and how long did you spend following the lives and journeys of those featured?

What initially attracted me was Lalá's story and the dimension it gained as we began to discover the details of his time at Santos.

He arrived at the club at the age of 24, coming from Paraná, with the dream of playing for what he considered the best team in the world. Less than three weeks after arriving in Santos, he was already traveling with the team to Europe, on what would become Santos' first tour of the European continent.

That was a cinematic story in itself.

For 44 days, that star-studded team faced some of the best teams in the world and won important titles. And Lalá was there, living that extraordinary experience.

But I did not want to make simply a film about football or trophies. I wanted to discover the man behind the goalkeeper.

The film involved one month of intense filming and production, combined with research and preparation to reconstruct different stages of Lalá's life.

We heard from people close to him and explored different periods of his journey. We had the special participation of José Macia, known as Pepe, as well as Davi Pierin, representing Lalá as a child, and Gustavo Casanova, representing his youth.

3. Managing a feature-length documentary presents unique narrative hurdles—how did you structure the arc to keep viewers engaged throughout?

My main challenge was not to make the film simply chronological.

We had many important facts: Lalá's arrival at Santos, his first international trip, the titles he won, his experience alongside legendary players, and later his career with Atlas in Mexico.

But I wanted the audience to feel that they were getting to know a person, rather than simply watching a list of achievements.

So we structured the narrative around the dream of a young man who wanted to play for Santos and followed how that dream became reality.

Memory also plays an important role in the film. The different participants help reconstruct Lalá during different stages of his life.

I also wanted to use cinematic language so that the documentary would have rhythm, emotion and atmosphere. I did not want it to be simply a succession of interviews and archival material.

4. What was the most emotionally moving moment you witnessed during the filming process?

I think the most moving aspect was realizing the human dimension of Lalá's journey.

When you hear his story and realize that the young man who dreamed of playing for Santos actually achieved that dream, traveled around the world and shared the field with players who became legends of football, there is an enormous emotional impact.

But for me, the most important thing was realizing that behind all those titles, there was an entire human life.

The film also became a reflection on memory.

Football remembers the great names, the goals and the trophies, but it can sometimes leave important people from those stories in the background.

Lalá was part of that historic generation of Santos. Telling his story was also a way of preserving a memory that should not be lost.

5. How did your background in fiction and independent filmmaking inform your approach to cinematography and pacing in this documentary?

My experience with fiction strongly influences the way I approach documentaries.

I cannot see documentary filmmaking only as a form of recording reality. For me, it also needs narrative construction, rhythm, atmosphere and visual language.

In Ninguém é Campeão Sozinho, we paid close attention to cinematography and to the way Lalá's memories and football history would be presented visually.

Tomires Ribeiro's work as cinematographer was fundamental to this process. I also worked with him on the editing, which allowed us to think about cinematography, rhythm and narrative as an integrated process.

My experience in independent filmmaking has also taught me to find creative solutions within production limitations. Often, you do not have every resource you would like to have, so creativity itself becomes part of the filmmaking language.

That, for me, is one of the strongest characteristics of independent cinema.

6. What role does teamwork and collective effort play within your own production team at Fraga Films?

For me, this question connects directly with the title of the film.

I truly believe that no one makes a film alone.

Fraga Films works from this idea of collaboration. In Ninguém é Campeão Sozinho, we had essential professionals involved in different stages of the production.

Tomires Ribeiro worked as cinematographer and also on the editing. Leonardo Granado was responsible for the screenplay and production direction. Gabriel Pierin worked on historical research and production. Luiz Luna handled direct sound. Junior Aragaki worked on sound design and the final mix. Jairo Mattos handled the drone footage, and Júlio Quinan created the poster artwork.

We also had Fraga Films, Primeiro Olho Filmes and Décimoitavo Produções involved in making-of and still photography.

Gabriela Wazlawick, Tomires Ribeiro, Leonardo Granado and I were involved in executive production.

My role as director is to bring together these different areas of expertise and make sure that everyone is moving in the same creative direction.

The film belongs to all of us.

And I think that is very similar to a football team: every person has a role, but the result depends on everyone working together.

7. How has the nomination at Dedallus Play helped bring wider visibility to the message of your film?

Every recognition the film receives helps Lalá's story reach an audience that might otherwise never have encountered it.

Ninguém é Campeão Sozinho has been selected and recognized by festivals in Brazil and internationally. Among its awards and honors are Best Audience Film at the Arouca Film Festival in Portugal, the Special Jury Prize at the Festival de Cinema da Lapa, as well as several honorable mentions and technical awards.

The film has also received recognition for cinematography and editing at OFFCINE, and for cinematography and sound design at BIMIFF.

Now, receiving a nomination for Best Documentary Feature at the 1st Dedallus Play Film Festival is especially meaningful because it takes the story even further.

For me, however, the most important thing is not simply collecting awards. It is keeping Lalá's story alive and circulating.

Every festival is another opportunity to introduce this character, his journey and this reflection on teamwork, memory and solidarity to new audiences.

8. What is the ultimate lesson about solidarity and success that you want viewers to take away from Ninguém é Campeão Sozinho?

I would like the audience to leave the film understanding that an individual achievement is almost never truly individual.

When someone stands on a podium, receives an award, scores a goal or achieves a dream, there is an entire story behind that moment.

In Lalá's case, there is his family, the boy who dreamed of becoming a football player, the people who helped him reach Santos, his teammates, and an entire generation that helped build that history.

And this applies to every profession, including filmmaking.

We need each other.

That is why the title is not simply a statement about football. It is the central message I hope remains after the credits:

No one truly reaches the top alone. There is always someone who walked alongside us.

https://fragafilms.com.br/ninguem-e-campeao-sozinho/ 

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