The start of the new year gave way for independent filmmaker and actor Caio Fontes to create simple, linear and action-driven story to fortify his own efforts to popularize the action genre more in his native Brazil. That movement came in the form of his February shortfilm, Stray, and the positive reactions it drew ultimately inspired Fontes and his team over at Colete Films to expand on the backstory for a larger scope, now leaving us the first of two volumes for the two-part prequel, Alpha.
Fontes returns to precede his first role in Stray as a member of an elite team of clandestine mercenaries, with both the first and second volume aimed at highlighting the moments leading up to the very turning point that ends where Stray begins. Andre Pinaud returns as Fontes‘s fellow comrade, The Tracker, with fellow performances by Yan Tarik and members of Fontes’s team, Colete Stunts.
The project took about thirty days to prepare before filming, and as with the nature of independent cinema, was not without its challenges. More actors for a more complex story, choreography, post-production and scheduling were all issues on some level or another between the last three months, on top of working on a zero-budget. Thankfully, Fontes and his team were able to get over those hills and help bring Alpha well on its way to a release in the second half of 2014 between now and this November.
As for the future of the Stray saga, Fontes plans to bring it to a close next year with Stray 2 before moving on with a crowdfunder for a hopeful feature-length project, all in an effort to bring martial arts action cinema to Brazil’s hungry niche of genre fans. It’s a big move for a small group like Colete Films, but their their goals remain ever more significant, and it shows through their endeavors, and ultimately, your support.
Subscribe to Colete Filmes on Facebook, share their page and learn more about Fontes and his team. In the meantime, Alpha: Vol. 1 is now online, and you can check it out below and subscribe to the channel!
