Miami’s Metroover inspires new sci-fi movie about grief

The brutalist, concrete-filled architecture of downtown Miami impressed writers and directors. Bernando Britto in childhood. He grew up across the county line in Weston, but often visited his father at work, where he was struck by Miami’s tall white buildings against the bright blue sky and the deserted atmosphere of downtown after 5 p.m.

That tropical, brutalist backdrop is present in Britto’s native Sao Paulo, Brazil, but the downtown Miami of his youth is what Britto tried to capture in his new sci-fi feature film.”Omni-loop“, is now available for streaming.

“I wanted to capture some kind of emotional truth about the city or something that almost reflected my imagination, my memories of growing up in the city,” Britto said.

In Omni Loop, a quantum physicist named Zoe, played by Mary Louise Parkerends up in a time loop, and a black hole grows in her chest. She teams up with Miami-Dade college student Paula, who she plays Bear‘With Ayo Edebirito try to unravel the mysteries of time travel.

“I always really liked the idea of ​​making a sci-fi movie that didn’t shy away from bright blue skies and urban weather,” Britto said. “Actually, I use it so we can contrast with the coldness of the laboratory environment at school.”

Movie title, Omni-loopnamed after Miami-Dade County’s Metromover line, a free electric people-moving system that connects downtown and nearby neighborhoods such as Brickell and Park West.

It was during the ride on the Metromover that many important parts of the film came together for Britto, such as the film’s title, the main character’s name, and where she would be going in certain scenes.

“The name is so sci-fi… it’s such a big name for something a little quirky,” Britto said. “(It) kind of just spins in a circle… and this idea of ​​like an endless loop, but really all it does is take businessmen to other places to have lunch or something like that, it’s this absurd contrast, which I really find interesting.”

READ MORE: Can Florida’s lagging film industry attract big-budget films and television again?

Britto knew he didn’t want to try to recreate this specific vision of South Florida somewhere else, so production took place almost entirely in Miami.

Locals can stop by cameo by Ron Magillor, if you’re a former or current Shark employee, you might recognize one of the Miami-Dade College campuses on the screen. And, of course, Metromover.

Britto always wanted to work in Miami, especially since New York and Los Angeles are overrepresented in film and art. A number of Britto’s works were inspired both by South Florida and by his experiences growing up in different cultures and moving to different places.

For the Omni Loop characters, Britto simply wanted to portray normal people, a normal family in a normal South Florida home, rather than the stereotypical, grandiose Miami personality common in pop culture.

“I always write with what I hope is genuine emotion,” Britto said. “I just tried to write it like, ‘What would any person do in this situation?'”

“(Actors) can just bring their authentic experiences and then the environment will shape it around them just by being there.”

Grief as inspiration

Britto started writing Omni-loop years ago, when he was finishing his first feature film Jacqueline Argentina (2016)mockumentary about a director filming a woman who claims to know about a plot to assassinate a politician.

It was different from the films he had made before, e.g. Places where we lived (2013) and Yearbook (2014) – both short cartoons.

Britto was in his early 20s when someone close to him was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and died.

“Ending Jacqueline very much like a 24-year-old guy…it’s like, ‘We’re all going to die,'” Britto said. “I just remember thinking I wanted to do something about death, about the feelings that I had.”

“How do we achieve a sense of completion? Or at least something that allows us to continue to live and communicate with others.”

Britto also had ideas about time travel, time travel pills, and black holes in people’s chests. All of these elements eventually found their way into Zoe’s story, but it wasn’t an easy process.

“You start writing it and then you realize, ‘Well, essentially I’m writing a movie about the meaning of life,’ and then it took a little while to figure that out,” Britto said.

Science fiction has always resonated deeply with Britto, so it was the perfect lens to tell this story of grief and loss. In Britto’s opinion, the very human issues and emotions mixed with absurd imaginative concepts are made for each other – along with a certain comedic element.

This theme is noticeable in his other works. As in Yearbooka man is hired to compile the definitive history of human existence before the planet explodes. And as in Hudson geese (2020), a six-minute animated film about a goose remembering its last migration.

“I couldn’t write a science-fiction film without immersing myself in something that I felt emotionally, intellectually or philosophically connected to,” Britto said. “At the same time, I don’t think I could write a movie about death that didn’t have some element of lightness or some element of cinematic fun.”

The reaction of the young audience is something that always seems special for Britto, especially this time for Omni-loop. At recent shows in Art Cinema Coral Gableshe had teenagers express their love for the film, and they said it made them want to call their parents.

Britto said he thought about his parents when making the film.

“I must have done something right if you wanted to call your parents,” Britto said. “If you’re watching a movie and it just makes you want to reach out to someone you appreciate or who you feel connected or close to in some way… even if you just want to complain about the movie… that’s more than me when – could have asked for.”

Filming in South Florida.

Britto and the film’s producers had to fight hard to get the film filmed in Miami. Filming in South Florida is expensive, which explains why so many movies and TV shows set in Miami are filmed in places like Atlanta or Louisiana.

It doesn’t help that Florida got rid of its last major fiscal stimulus program almost a decade ago, which offered performance-based incentives such as cash rebates and tax breaks to attract production.

“They show you two pieces of paper and tell you how much it will cost to do it in Georgia. That’s what it would cost to do it in South Florida,” Britto said. “It’s difficult because… it’s an independent film, every dollar counts.”

Shooting Omni-loop in Miami some sacrifices had to be made. Britto, for example, had to edit the film himself so that part of the money would go towards special effects and cleaning up the music.

There was also the issue of unpredictable weather in South Florida. The hurricane stopped production for several days. But Britto insists the trade-off—the most beautiful locations and sunsets you’ve ever seen—is worth it.

He said it also helps further build a community and industry in South Florida for TV and film crews who want to work.

“We never allowed this movie to be filmed in anything other than Miami,” Britto said. “I cannot rightfully expect every industry in the world to do this. I think it really has to start with governments and tax incentives, and hopefully they realize the benefits of filming here.”

Keep up with South Florida arts and culture events by subscribing to the A/C newsletter. Every Wednesday, A/C will offer a selection of stories and deep dives highlighting the South Florida arts community. Click Here subscribe.