Garrano

David Doutel and Vasco Sá started co-directing animation films 12 years ago. Since then, they have presented 4 short films and are currently working on their first animated feature film. They are co-founders of BAP – Animation Studio, where they work as directors and producers.

Director Statement
“A small, but resistant horse breed.
A deceiving, fallacious, fraudulent and treacherous individual.”

The film “Garrano” stems from the urge of addressing and reflecting upon the serious and endemic problem of Portuguese forest fires.
It aims to tackle this subject from a distinctive point of view, not engaging in the common perspective akin to that of a news report focusing on the dramatic consequences of such event. Instead, it delves and explores the side that is vastly unknown to the audience: the moments that precede the ignition of a wildfire.
There are two main causes for the occurrence of forest fires: natural factors and human factors. This project is interested in focusing on human factors and the occurrence of forest fires as a set of premeditated, intentional and deliberate actions, with no room for chance nor accidental possibilities.
The amount of evidence of criminal activity linked to a large number of forest fires has led us to gain a special interest in the psychological characterization of arsonists in Portugal. We came to realize there is an established profile that describes the majority of these subjects as male and single individuals who typically work in precarious jobs.
We decided to set the visual tone of the film based on the mountainous landscapes of the north of Portugal, where the Garrano horse can still be found. During the writing process of the film, we gained a very specific interest in the history of this horse – a wild horse that has coexisted with people for centuries, accepting its role as the “working horse” – short but resistant. Nowadays, the Garrano is facing a severe threat of extinction. Since its skills are no longer needed, it turned into a wild horse incapable of defending itself from its predators – the wolves. As a local shepherd said: “It’s curious how existence can depend on utility”.
We built the narrative for this film on these objective foundations – fictional in its nature, but originating from reality observation. The film “Garrano” intends to instigate a reflection on the relationship between social inequalities, isolation and the subsequent vulnerability that derives from that condition and the phenomenon of the deliberate ignition of forest fires by an arsonist.
Fire ignites in “Garrano” not as a hypothesis of evil, obsession or fascination but rather as a means to an end, as a deliberate and conscious transgression that constitutes the only way to achieve a desirable outcome.