I am astounded by Sadie Duarte's drive, talent and ambition... She is Wonder Woman... She can do it all. She is such an amazing woman who I am so happy to call my friend... When we last interviewed Sadie she was just adding the finishing touches to her first independent film DMUS.. Now, the film has had a private premier in Spain. To help celebrate the films completion, Sadie along with Will Sid Smith, Andrew Maley and Francesca Romana will be presenting a free concert in London on July 22nd @7PM. It will be held at The Dublin Castle located at 94 Parkway, Camden, London NW1 7AN.. Will Sid Smith, Francesca Romana and Real Experts (plus special guest Daniel Angelus) will be performing. The concert will last for about four hours.. So be there or be square! I hope you enjoy my interview with the fabulous Sadie Duarte..
Thanks so much for the interview Sadie. The last time we chatted you were in the midst of adding the final touches on your film DMUS. Tell us about what has been happening since our last interview.

I think that most people don't really know how exhausting was to work on DMUS. From the start until the very end, MT Producciones and I had to overcome so many setbacks. Despite being a 45-minute film, it was not an easy road. " I do believe that other producers in our shoes had given up, but we wanted to make this film, so we had the guts to carry on." There were problems with locations so we had to shoot in Lugo and not in Madrid, trouble with actors coming and going... The final editing took many months too. The main problem was that all of us, the producers, were living in different cities so that made things incredibly difficult. It was impossible for us to travel back and forth all the time, so the files were sent by e-mail, we watched them and tried to reach an agreement. I remember having long conversations with the production company on the phone until 3:00 or 4:00 am very often. Personally, when I was told that the editing was over, I was relieved. It was clear that after two years, I needed a rest. " In Spain, nobody believed we could shoot this movie because we had very little money ."The amount of money we had was absolutely ridiculous for a musical. To tell you the truth, every single time I watch DMUS, the perfectionist in me tells me that not everything is right, but it was a challenge and the movie is finally there. That's all that matters to me and I'm happy about it. So since DMUS has been in my hands, we got a distribution company based in Madrid, MMS, and I recently started a new master in Cinematographic Direction and Production of TV shows which it'll surely help me improve my knowledge and skills.

When you got the date for your private premier of DMUS did it seem like the date was taking forever or were you rushed?

I was given a copy of DMUS at the end of January, but I decided to go for another revision and try to improve some bits here and there, even the part of the film that was shot in LA. This means the final version of the film reached me at the beginning of April, so we thought it was the right month for the premier as the cast and crew were already impatient to watch the film. We reached an agreement about the date in about two weeks, so we didn't wait for long. In the meantime, the festival circuit started in March with the first version of DMUS, but we knew it takes about two or three months to get any feedback so when the final version was there, I sent our distributor the revised copy.

Did you do a lot of advance interviews and press prior to the premier?

We got several press articles in Madrid and Zaragoza prior to the premier, all praising our Spanish and LA team work, but I've been asking for interviews right now, for a TV channel, radio shows and online magazines. To be honest, I find journalists and the media in general are more supportive outside Spain than in my own country. I'll always be grateful to Punk Globe and you, Ginger, for supporting DMUS, and the same goes for the amazing radio show Dazed. We really need more people like you and Nikki Palomino in this world. You're both great ladies.

Tell the readers about the theater in Madrid where you had your premier at?

It's the Artistic Metropol. A small cinema for independent productions and a great place for foreign movies and especially, short films.

What is the capacity of the cinema?

This cinema initially had eighty seats, but there are one hundred now. A place like this is good to know how the public will react. DMUS is in English and although it includes Spanish subtitles, we had no idea if the cast and crew's friends would be eager to attend the premier and watch it too. Fortunately, we got a full house!

Tell us about some of the people who attended the special blowout?

Friends and friends of friends. Most of the actors are living in Madrid and some of them were not working that day, so they were kind enough to attend the premier and share a couple of hours with producer Jorge Aparicio and I.

Was it a private or was the public also invited?

It was a private screening for the cast, crew and colleagues, even my Twitter and Facebook friends. I wrote online that the event was by invitation only, so people had to contact me beforehand or if they were FB and Twitter friends, just turn up and see it there was any available seat. We obviously have to be very careful with the festival circuit as some festivals have rules for this, so any screenings we have should be done in this way.

Is it true that Will Sid Smith and his father flew in from England to attend?

Yes, it is! It was a huge surprise for everybody. Will was very happy with the idea of coming over and attending the premier. We had lunch together with another film director and our distributor. It was a pleasure for me to talk to Will and his Dad. They're both incredibly kind and generous.

Tell us about how long they stayed in Spain?

They only stayed for the weekend because Will had to go back to university. He's such a busy man! The weather was not so good 'cause it started to rain very heavily right after the premier and it was cold. I was wearing trendy clothes and a coat but I was freezing!

How about the adorable and very talented Dave Aidan. Did he attend?

Dave has been rather busy lately, both working and studying, but he managed to attend the premier and we all took some pics with Will.

If memory serves me right, it was around that time that one of the commercials that Dave had done was getting major air play on television in Spain? Did he get mobbed by fans?

I saw that he had to greet many people outside the cinema, shaking hands and of course, kissing some of the girls! He's been performing in a few theatrical plays and studying at the same time, so he doesn't have much spare time. I'm very please to know that, in general, all of our DMUS actors are getting lots of work.

Did Dave and Will get together for shots of vodka and tequila afterwards?

I would have loved to see that! Dave had a meeting and Will had been doing lots of sightseeing that morning so he was very tired. We all talked for a while, but they left in the evening.

Tell us about the audiences response to the film?

A Spanish journalist from a radio show told me: "The guts and the courage you all had to shoot a musical! Your work should be praised." And another one stated: "It shocked me. I haven't seen any musical like this before." Then, an old lady pointed out: "After seeing your film, I believe that dreams can come true." The feedback I'm getting is that people understand this is not a Hollywood production, but they value the effort, love the soundtrack, and they generally say they're impressed. Another journalist said that Jesus Calderon's songs (our official composer) reminded him of Bob Fosse and a producer told me that Jesus is the Spanish Andrew Lloyd Webber!

Did you have a reception party after the premier?

We had a few drinks together and other filmmakers joined us, but I didn't stay for long either as I had to return to my hometown early in the morning.

Besides Will and his father did you have other special guests from other countries?

I had loved to see other foreign people, especially the rest of our songwriters, but I understand that traveling abroad is very expensive.

I know the gala was not open to the public, but did you get any reviews about DMUS after premier by the press in Spain?

Not yet. Only interviews. I suppose if we're lucky enough to get a screening at any festival, then we'll surely get some. Sadly, Spanish journalists and the media don't usually write reviews about short films.

I understand you had another premier in your hometown a few days later. Tell us about that?

And we also got a full house! It was at El Corte Ingles (the most important and famous department stores with branches all over Spain). They get screenings for cinema lovers and customers who want to get to know more about independent cinema. We also had another screening at La Suite Teatro on June 14th, a venue for artists who want to promote their works and it was also packed.

You must have been beat after planning and have two premiers. Were you able to get any rest?

Not much. I also had a few interviews right after that and started this master at university. I also keep talking to people and making connections so I'm usually busy every single day.

Will you be doing the film festival circuit?

The festival circuit will last for about one year. Right now, DMUS is being sent outside Spain as the running time for Spanish festivals should be either no more than thirty minutes or more than sixty. I think there are only a couple of festivals in my country for forty-minute films. Obviously, that's not enough.

Any bites on a deal or help with distribution?

The manager at MMS is doing a great job. Right now, DMUS has been sent to more than thirty festivals all over the world in less than three months. We'd love to see some results, but I think we still have a long way ahead of us.


We interviewed Alexis Pardo in the June issue of Punk Globe and he mentioned that he was unable to attend the premier in Madrid. Has he seen the film yet?

No, he hasn't. Unfortunately, the DMUS crew and sponsors are based in Galicia, in the north of Spain, so it's difficult for them to travel, especially if they're working or filming. The production company is arranging a screening in A Coruna to make things easier.

Tell the readers about the gala event you have panned in England in July?

I had this idea of doing something special in UK, so I talked to my DMUS artists Andrew Maley (the mastermind behind Real Experts), the one and only Will Sid Smith and Francesca Romana who is an awesome Italian songwriter/singer who often travels to London. Andrew created a FB group for us to talk about it and everybody started to ask around, thinking of options. It was not easy to arrange a date as they all have plenty of things to do and Will is also studying in another city. It took several weeks before we all agreed on July 22nd and Andrew finally got the right venue for this epic concert at the Dublin Castle. It's the first time a 45-minute Spanish film has this unique chance, so we're all overjoyed and I'm looking forward to traveling to London!

Tell the readers the date, time and location?

The concert will take place at the legendary Dublin Castle on July 22nd at 7 pm. The address is: 94 Parkway, Camden, London NW1 7AN

Will the concert be open to the public? If it is open to the public how can people get tickets?

Yes. It's a free concert and there are no tickets so people should only make sure to get there early!

Who all will be on the bill?

Will Sid Smith, Francesca Romana and Real Experts (plus special guest Daniel Angelus). The concert will last for about four hours, so we'll rock the place for sure!

Do you have any Internet addresses for the film and yourself that you would like to share with the readers?

The official FB page for DMUS is: https://www.facebook.com/dmusmovie
People can also find me on FB: https://www.facebook.com/sadie.duarte.3
And Twitter: @sadieduarte

Sadie, tell us what is in store for the rest of 2015?

I'm writing two different scripts, one for a full-feature action/adventure film and another one for a short film. If things go right, I could be shooting this new short film at the end of this year or early in 2016. Apart from this, as I'm also an author, freelance writer and translator, I've been told to translate a couple of novels into Spanish. I should start working on one of them shortly. And of course, I'm also happy to get more work in Spain or outside my country. I like keeping myself busy!

Any plans on bring the film to the USA?

I'd love to. I already have one venue in mind for a screening in Los Angeles for the LA cast, crew and friends there, but we still have to discuss all this further.

Any final words for Punk Globe readers?

Life doesn't last for long, so you should pluck up your courage, take a step forward and believe that it's never too late to chase your dreams!