What techniques did you use to help tell the story visually?

I'm a big fan of color psychology and the effects that color can have on viewers. I spoke a lot with the production designer and costume department to identify colors that would give us the right mood. For example, infertility is a theme in the story, and I used blue tones for that, whereas when the main character is at home or in a comforting environment, I used orange.

Also, this movie was shot in eight weeks in the south of Portugal, but the story goes through an entire year. I used different colors to create the illusion of four seasons. There's a really rich palette, because you start with the warmth of summer, you go through a bit of autumn, then you go to winter with rain and cold and blue, and you end up in the spring.

In terms of camerawork, I tried to be fairly unobtrusive. For the beginning of the story, I used more wide-angle lenses to give an impression of the main character being a bit lost in the environments she finds herself in. But as she matures and becomes more aware of herself and her sexuality, I moved towards mid and long lenses, so that she’s more separated from the background.