Rui Pedro Oliveira, CEO of Imaginew, entered in 1991 at Universidade Portucalense to study Informatics. Today, he is responsible for creating an animated film about the Apparitions of Fátima to the three Little Shepherds that can “be seen from 10 to 100 years old”.

Comunica UPT: When and under what circumstances was the idea of ​​making a film about Fátima born?

Rui Pedro Oliveira: The idea came up on a return trip from the United States of America. Coming to Porto, after a stopover in Lisbon and on a special day for me, I decided to go through Fátima. When speaking with 250 South Koreans who were there on purpose having chartered a ‘charter’, I realized that Fátima had more myth in the world than I imagined. I thought that the best way to show that there is no law that determines that Portugal cannot compete worldwide, in any area, in this case historical, patrimonial, musical, computer and cinema, would be to do something different that would remain as a legacy. Hence an animation project was born.

This project was developed over how long and where?
This project is approximately two years old and will be completed in 2017, the year of the centennial of the Apparitions of Fátima. In terms of production, it is divided between Porto and Warsaw, and in terms of promotion, it has already physically visited four continents.

How many people were involved?
In Portugal 35 are affected and in Poland around 50, which makes a total of 85 people allocated to the project.

What did you intend with this project?
The objective is to leave a strong Portuguese brand worldwide, not for me who did not understand almost anything about how to make a film, but for believing that the country and the theme deserve to be treated and remembered with joy, good mood and not as a people gloomy and sad. We are not like that.

What were the biggest surprises you encountered during this work?
I found many positive and negative surprises. As we have some facility, mainly mental, in turning negative things into positive ones, I always take the less positive ones as warnings to the navigation that need to be quickly changed and turned into something good. The biggest surprise is to see happiness on Monday morning, when we have weekly preparatory meetings and, yes, it flatters me as a manager. It is a relationship of giving and receiving – intangible in well-being and tangible in results.

What feedback have you received?
The feedback has been very good and encouraging in all areas – personal, professional, cultural, political and academic. However, I know that naturally I will not be immune to the criticisms that will arise, but no one makes us feel inferior if they do not have our consent, so I am not worried.

How do you define this film?
An animated, comical and emotional film, of adventure and melomania, which portrays the current values. It is a film that values ​​the values ​​of tolerance, friendship, peace and respect, the values ​​of Fátima, in fact

To what extent has your academic background influenced or helped you in this project?
My area of ​​study is IT. I also invested in postgraduate courses in the area of ​​Management and an ‘Executive Master’ in Marketing. I admit that the pragmatism of engineering, combined with the effectiveness of Management with the creativity of Marketing, contributed to this result. However, more than an academic path, the relational path, the people, the new realities experienced are always much more influential.

Place of birth: Porto

Hobbies: Hiking, Sea, Reading, Music, Traveling and Writing.

Reference book: “If this is a man” by Primo Levi.

Life motto: Laugh, give, receive and have fun.