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Um fake trailers, a parody format in which the content draws the audience into a film that doesn't exist, was the ideal way Zel Junior found to express his ideas, artistic desires and political positioning in one place. The 24-year-old content creator and resident of the east side of São Paulo has gained notoriety among the public and the Brazilian media in recent months due to “Lula's Panthers".
With an impeccable audiovisual, worthy of a Hollywood production, criticism of the Brazilian government is involved in aesthetic and cultural references of the 2000s. How is it for Zel to deal with such a big hit? What are the next steps for the youtuber? He answers all this in an interview with showmetech!
What is Lula's Panthers about?
The fusion of the pop culture action classic The Panthers - also known as Charlie's Angels — and one of the most prominent names in the Brazilian political scene, brings curiosity to those who have not yet come across content on social networks or in a conversation between friends. in the parody, Squid is Charlie, that is, head of the squad of agents made up of Diana Martins, Jade Mascarenhas and by Zel Junior himself, which must fight theBolsonaro's robots".
The trailer with just over two minutes delivers everything we need: action, comedy, looks and LGBTQIA+ people starring in clichés that we love. However, the struggle portrayed there is far from cliché. Also, when we talk about visual effects and editing worthy of feature films of the highest caliber, we're not exaggerating. Watch and draw your own conclusions:
When adding views from YouTube, Instagram, TikTok and Twitter, Lula's Panthers already reach 1,5 million since its posting date, March 29. With all the success of the project, Zel Junior also participated in the clip “BOYKIN” da Gloria Groove and get ready for your next videos.
Beginning of career and artistic references
According to Zel, it all started with the wine, a micro-video platform on which he posted periodically for only 2 months, due to the company's bankruptcy. It was there that the content creator realized that he really liked the audiovisual, deciding to migrate to the YouTube. Since 2017, when he started posting on the channel, his videos have a more cinematic feel. This stems from the pop divas.
I'm very impacted by pop divas clips and the ones I follow always make these highly produced creations like Taylor Swift and Lady Gaga. In 2015, when I watched Bad Blood, I posting on Snapchat something like “I'm still going to do an action video, guys”.
Zel Junior
Two years later, the video Anitta vs Pabllo Vittar arrives in the world, considered as a great wronged by Zel.
I think it's my favorite video, because the way it's built excites me a lot. He didn't have a script, we just took the camera and went to record it, so the script came up right away. It was this work that opened the door for all the videos I make today.
Zel Junior
Production costs and routine
Hard to imagine, but yes, Zel produces, edits, makes costumes, rents leases and equipment, all alone. He even cites a funny story (tragic at the time) of when he started making the videos. He worked as a clerk at a bakery and even took out a loan to buy a camera, which snowballed into a debt of 20 reais.
Then I had to sell the camera to pay off the loan. It's a ride to be able to produce here in Brazil, we have to go around a lot. For example, Lula's Panthers, I started buying costume parts in January 2021, for a video that we started recording in July
Zel Junior
Image: Lula's Panthers
It is worth mentioning the fact that this type of production is not simple at all, much less develops immediately. And as much as the youtuber edit, direct, script and everything else, it is still necessary to pay the cast, make the costumes, rent equipment, filmmaker and lease. So, it's very expensive, so Zel produces and posts when possible.
The founder of Free Brazil Movement (MBL), Renan Santos, even accused Zel Junior of having made the video with party resources, insinuating that the production would have cost around 200 to 300 thousand reais. Which is flattering, according to Zel, because he paid 10 thousand reais in total to Lula's Panthers, coming directly from the salary he earns from editing videos for other artists.
“I'm not going to tolerate this just because a guy finds it very difficult for a gay, northeastern and peripheral to be able to direct, script, edit and do special effects. They didn't even bother to research my channel, I've been doing this for years, there are videos as good as 'As Panteras do Lula' and that I made with less than a hundred reais”.
Zel Junior's statement in response to Renan Santos' accusation
The low-budget independent production is even a joke for the youtuber:
Art and political positioning
The channel's videos Zel Junior not only criticize the government, but also the religion. Therefore, many brands may see these issues as a barrier to possible partnerships, but this does not discourage the artist. He emphasizes that there are still other ways to mark that open doors, from editing work to helping with some other production, and that's how he prepares for my next videos.
Image: Lula's Panthers
As an artist, Zel still comments that if he were to play just one role, such as director or actor, he wouldn't enjoy it.
What I like is the set of everything. I can't imagine someone choosing the clothes I'm going to wear in a video. I get involved a lot with specific jobs, like editing for companies or agencies, since that's how I survive. But in my videos, it's where I feel artistically complete.
Zel Junior
For more cliche LGBTQIA+ content
Image: Lula's Panthers
In addition to the need to express yourself, video creation also emerges as a way to represent something to other people. Zel says that he always wanted to see a gay fighting in heels. A totally sensible wish, since we don't find works by people from the LGBTQIA+ community doing cliché things from the mainstream.
Lula's Panthers is a movie that I wish I had seen as a child in the Afternoon Session. It's a tribute to what I'd like to see.
Zel Junior
We want to fight for the greater good, but sometimes, we just want a big Twitter fight over pop diva.
Next Steps
The next video already has a date: October 19th. Following his dream, Zel wants to produce a special Halloween all year. Kim petras is his great inspiration in this project. The trans singer receives many attacks on social media, religious appear at the entrance of her shows, all with the same speech: “you are a freak, a monster”. By appropriating these , she creates the album Turn off the lights, having terror as its main theme.
Image: Disclosure
I already had this idea of doing something scary for Halloween, but when I heard the album, I was obsessed. I thought: “I want to die in high heels in a forest, pursued by a serial killer. I need to do this!”. I want something very clichezão, full of references from the 80's and 90's movies, in addition to bringing it to Brazilian reality. I'm really looking forward to doing this!
Zel Junior
And already has teasers than there!
Finally, it's worth mentioning Zel's excitement about his video, the Halloween special. We wish you good luck, success and that you appear more often showmetech.
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