With Rita Lee and Tina Turner as icons, Manuela Dias is back with her strong women

No matter how many projects are in progress, Manuela Dias does not give up giving voice and protagonism to women – strong, determined, loving, but who also suffer. Real women. It’s your brand. This Thursday (1), the author of “Amor de Mãe” appropriates one of them, Dona Lurdes (played by Regina Casé in the soap opera), to launch a book spin-off.

She is also looking forward to the launch of “Justice 2”, a drama series that will gain a new phase in October, and is also preparing a new serial. All of this, at the same time, and with women at the forefront. In an interview with F5, Manuela guarantees that “not only does she want to make a soap opera, but she is making one”. “I’m writing the next one for Globoplay”, she announces, creating a certain amount of suspense about the plot. “It’s still top secret,” she says.

If the subject that guides her work is female strength, there is no way that Manuela is not devastated by two recent losses: the deaths of Rita Lee and Tina Turner, whom the author considers two icons of life. “Rita Lee has been an inspiration since I was seven years old and Tina Turner arrived in my adolescence bringing many questions. I believe that some people overcome the dialectic between life and death by becoming immortal. This is their case.”

Without wanting to cite other examples of women who inspire her, the writer makes a point of also praising the figure of the Brazilian mother, as she did with Lurdes in her serial. Her ability to move on, to make sense, to love and to give what she doesn’t have are some of the points she highlights. “This resilience of the Brazilian mother is very impactful. Women who are raising not only their children, but an entire people, doing so without the support of the State and often without the support of the children’s parents”.

As for “Justice 2”, Manuela prefers to do drama. The first official materials only anticipate that Kellen (Leandra Leal) will return to the plot as the administrator of a brothel – this time alongside her new husband, Darlan (Fábio Lago), owner of an influencer dog, Bete.

The most difficult thing in the creation process is to intertwine the stories, according to the teleplaywright. The stage was even more complex due to Globo’s internal movements: even with more episodes compared to the first phase, she had to work with a “very reduced team in the first half of the process” and then finalized the text alone. “This ended up making the whole process even more artisanal, even within an industry like television production. This is super interesting and creates a tension of forces within the creative process”, she analyzes.

empty nest

Among the different projects, Manuela will also make the public miss the character played by Regina Casé in “Amor de Mãe” with the launch of the book “Diário da Dona Lurdes” (Editora Melhoramentos, 120 pages), this Thursday, at Livraria da Vila, in São Paulo (SP). In the work, set one year after the final unfolding of the soap opera shown by Globo, Domenico’s mother (Chay Suede) deals with the empty nest syndrome.

Right after the family was complete at the end of the plot, each one went to one side – which left Lurdes uncomfortable. After watching a psychologist’s tip on Ana Maria Braga’s show, she decides to keep a diary in which she confides her feelings, the routine at home and her thoughts on what her life will be like from then on.

The work, which was built without any contact with Regina (who only found out about the project when she was invited to write the preface), pays a great tribute. “I think Dona Lurdes is bigger than the soap opera. Everything converged. The explosion that is Regina Casé, directed by Zé Luiz [José Luiz Villamarim]my text, and reality, because Dona Lurdes dialogues with the strength of the Brazilian mother, it is an ode to the Brazilian mother.”