The lovelorn drama High Tide follows a Brazilian immigrant Lourenço, played by Marco Pigossi, whose visa is about to expire while he heartbreakingly waits for his American boyfriend to return to him in Provincetown. While living alone in the seaside community, he grows distressed daily. Eventually, he connects with many people including the charming Maurice (James Bland) and his friends (one of them being Mya Taylor from Tangerine) as well as locals Miriam (Marisa Tomei) and Scott (Bill Irwin).
The film, which debuted earlier this year at SXSW in Austin, marks Pigossi’s English-language feature film debut and it’s also the feature directorial debut for writer/director Marco Calvani — who happens to be Pigossi’s husband.
During an interview with GLAAD’s Anthony Allen Ramos, Pigossi expressed how beautiful the indie film was to make but there were so “many miracles behind it that it made it even more special.”
“[High Tide] so important for many reasons,” Pigossi said. “It’s my first film in America. It’s my first time working with my husband and partner. It’s very personal.”
The gorgeous cast includes acting legends Iwrin and Oscar winner Tomei — who Calvani worked with on Broadway.”It was so beautiful to work with them,” said Pigossi. “[Tomei] wanted to play the Miriam character — which is the only female character and [Irwin] is just the most wonderful person.”
And the way he met his Calvani is nothing short of a romantic drama.
“I always say that there’s a love story behind the love story and that happened when we met,” he started. “I met with Marco [Calvani] for the first time and we were talking a lot about coming out… about finding yourself. I have a very specific story. I’ve been a gay man all my life, but I was in the closet until I was 30 years old because I was in Brazil and I wouldn’t have opportunities as an actor if I had been out at that time… my process of accepting and coming out was a whole different way because I wasn’t coming out to my friends and family. I had to come out to a whole country.”
When the two met, Pigossi was producing a documentary following four queer candidates at the municipal elections in Brazil. He told Calvani he wanted to talk about it through his work as an actor. “Little did I know he was writing a script about a Latino person — not necessarily Brazilian — but a Latin guy who was coming to Provincetown to find himself and to discover himself during the process.”
He continued, “We were falling in love and he was asking me a lot of questions like ‘What are your favorite poems?’ and ‘What city in Brazil do you think would be homophobic and conservative?’… and this and that… after a month, we were completely in love and we moved in together — like good lesbians — very quickly.”
When Calvani handed him the script for what would become High Tide, Pigossi read so many personal things from all the questions he was asking. “It became our baby,” said Pigossi. He adds that High Tide isn’t biographical but includes nuances of their romance. Ultimately, it’s about a young queer Brazilian immigrant trying to find and accept himself.
High Tide premieres in theaters October 18.
