Since The House of Sand is a period film, or rather, a film which takes place over various periods, the characterization and costumes are fundamental aspects of the film. The passages of time were a challenge common to all departments. Headed up by Martin Trujillo, the makeup team had to be very thorough, especially in the characterization of the characters throughout the different phases.

“Because of the film’s nature, it was very important to prepare the characterization with delicacy and a wealth of detail. Since we worked with various characters in distinct generations we needed to emphasize at least one different characteristic for each of them in each phase,” says the makeup artist. “We aged the clothes to show the passage of time and the phase changes were very subtle. We sewed and unraveled all day long,” recalls costume designer Cláudia Kopke.

The concept behind the costumes did not limit itself to historical publications. Creativity was essential in the realization of the costume design.

“I researched old books and magazines in order to compose the costumes, but the script pointed to something beyond this research, which was the lack of access to information. How did people adapt to this isolation? Wearing things that weren’t clothes. For example, we turned sheets and towels of that period in time, into costumes,” remarked Claudia Kopke.

Martin praises the contribution made by the “Fernandas” in the characterization process.

“Since I had just finished another film, I had little time to think about the physical composition of the characters. I arrived in Lençóis with four or five wigs under my arm. Both Fernanda and Nanda were very important in this process. We came up with all the ideas together and developed a train of thought. This partnership and the openness of these actresses was very important to me because the characterizations were complicated and demanded a lengthy execution time.”

According to Martin, one of the most difficult scenes for characterization was when Fernanda Montenegro plays two roles in the same scene, a younger and older version of herself.

“For this scene, which took two days to shoot, Fernanda had to wake up with me at 3:00am. I did all her makeup for the older version, a process that lasted approximately three hours and three more hours to make the younger character. For those accustomed to the big city, arriving in Santo Amaro was both a great physical and emotional shock. I brought products which wouldn’t stain, where sweat could fall freely on makeup without causing damage.”

Both the makeup artist and the costume designer shared the same opinion when asked if the project was the hardest of their lives.

“It was definitely the most complex film I’ve made, but the result was very gratifying,” confesses Cláudia. “When people ask me what was my best experience in Brazilian Cinema, I always answer Eu Tu Eles, with Andrucha. Now when they ask which was the most difficult, I answer The House of Sand”, says Martin.