Behind the Sun (Abril Despedaçado) was inspired by the novel Broken April by the Albanian writer Ismail Kadaré. It was adapted for the screen by Walter Salles, Sérgio Machado and Karim Aïnouz, and the filming took place in August and September 2000 in the towns of Bom Sossego, Caetité and Rio de Contas, in the interior of Bahia.
The film is a Brazilian - French - Swiss co-production. Behind the Sun brings together once more producer Arthur Cohn, who collaborated with Vittorio De Sica on his last five films and is the only independent producer to have won six Oscars, and Brazilian director Walter Salles. Their last film together, Central Station, won more than 50 international awards and was seen by more than 7 million viewers, including 1.6 million in Brazil.
As in Foreign Land and Central Station, the cast of Behind the Sun brings together both professional and non-professional actors. To prepare the actors, Walter Salles relied on assistant director Sérgio Machado and actor Luiz Carlos Vasconcelos. The director of photography is Walter Carvalho and the music is by Antonio Pinto, with the collaboration of Ed Côrtes and Beto Villares, and with the special participation of Siba, from the Pernambucan group Mestre Ambrósio.
The film is a Brazilian - French - Swiss co-production. Behind the Sun brings together once more producer Arthur Cohn, who collaborated with Vittorio De Sica on his last five films and is the only independent producer to have won six Oscars, and Brazilian director Walter Salles. Their last film together, Central Station, won more than 50 international awards and was seen by more than 7 million viewers, including 1.6 million in Brazil.
As in Foreign Land and Central Station, the cast of Behind the Sun brings together both professional and non-professional actors. To prepare the actors, Walter Salles relied on assistant director Sérgio Machado and actor Luiz Carlos Vasconcelos. The director of photography is Walter Carvalho and the music is by Antonio Pinto, with the collaboration of Ed Côrtes and Beto Villares, and with the special participation of Siba, from the Pernambucan group Mestre Ambrósio.