Newly added to the Globoplay catalog, CIC – Central de Inteligência Cearense features actress Alana Ferri as Mikaela, a secret agent who combines skill in action scenes, humor, and intelligence in a plot directed by Halder Gomes. To build the character, the actress immersed herself in intense preparation that included physical training and perfecting her Argentinian accent, reinforcing her commitment to authenticity on screen. In an interview, Alana talks about the challenges of the film, the search for more complex female characters, the balance between her artistic career and entrepreneurship aimed at a female audience, as well as the next steps in a trajectory marked by creativity on and off screen.
Mikaela, in “CIC – Central de Inteligência Cearense”, is a secret agent who fights, dances tango, maintains disguises, and also navigates between action and humor. What most captivated you about this mix of strength, intelligence, and comedy in the character?
What fascinates me most is something I also relate to my personal life. Mikaela can be strong, intelligent, courageous, and at the same time, have humor and lightness. Just like her, I can be a businesswoman, entrepreneur, and actress, working in different areas without having to choose just one.
You mentioned that you wanted to go beyond the stereotypes traditionally associated with female characters in action films. What kind of woman did you want to portray through Mikaela?
A woman who doesn’t stay silent, who fights for what she wants and what she believes in. A princess who doesn’t need saving. I like to reinforce this idea of embracing everything, without having to choose between one thing and another. Mikaela may have characteristics traditionally associated with female characters in action films, such as sensuality and magnetism, but without occupying the role of an accessory, a romantic or sexual interest of someone. She is not defined by that. She is a woman who saves herself, saves others, and does things for herself.
Preparing for the Argentinian accent seems to have been almost a self-investigative process: conversations, travel, observation, and many hours of TV series. How did this immersion in the language help you find the character from within?
Learning a new language opens up opportunities to discover other ways of communicating, and this helps build an identity, even on a personal level. Professionally, working in another language creates a distance from how we normally communicate in our native tongue. For me, this ended up becoming a creative tool and was very important in finding the character.
The result of the accent was so convincing that some lines had to be redubbed to make it easier for the audience to understand. How was it dealing with this curious detail of a preparation that worked “too well”?
It was challenging because it was a result I worked very hard to achieve. I wanted people to watch the film without knowing if I was Brazilian or Argentinian, and that really happened, even in the redubbed scenes.
In the dubbing, I maintained the delivery of the Argentinian accent when speaking in Portuguese so that the result wouldn’t clash with the scenes. I had a very positive response, but it was a challenge to revisit this work and make this adaptation.
Anyway, it’s part of the process. We need to be prepared to deal with these situations. It was my first dubbing experience, and I tried to make everything as close as possible to what had been originally recorded. I redubbed fight scenes, so there was also work involved in body language, breathing, and acting, to make everything sound natural, believable, and aligned with the images.
Mikaela also introduced you to Taekwondo, a practice you intend to continue until you reach black belt. What did this physical training leave with you beyond the film?
I already had good physical preparation before the film, and that was one of the factors that helped me master the character, due to my body awareness and mobility. But the specific preparation for the fight scenes left me, above all, with a huge desire to do more action films. I really enjoyed the training, the fight scenes, and this experience. That’s what stayed with me the most.
Outside of the screen, you created the Vulva Feminist Club, with a hostel and travel agency exclusively for women. At what point in your artistic and personal journey did this need to build safe spaces arise?
Safe spaces for women are essential in the world we live in. I am very happy to make it easier for so many women to take their first solo trip, learn a new sport, or visit places they have always dreamed of.
Entrepreneurship has always been a desire of mine, but not necessarily in this sector. Everything happened very naturally. First came the hostel, then the agency, and the project grew. Today, when I look back, I see that it all made sense.
You talk about women needing to “provide the security” that so many times tries to take away from them. How has entrepreneurship become, for you, a form of freedom, creation, and also resistance?
I truly associate those three words with entrepreneurship. Freedom comes from having built financial security with my businesses, which allows me to continue investing in my acting career.
Creativity is present throughout the entire process. From the initial business idea to the development of the visual identity, the brand, the hostel renovation, the creation of the spaces, the messages spread throughout the environment, the travel itineraries, and the experience offered to the women. Everything went through me and required a great deal of creativity.
And the resistance lies in the very existence of these businesses focused exclusively on women, creating safe spaces. The name “Vulva” also carries this meaning. It’s a word that has been historically silenced and made invisible, as has the very representation of this part of the female body, linked to female pleasure and not to reproduction or male pleasure. There is a purpose in this choice, and I believe that this is also an act of resistance.
Her journey encompasses acting, influence, business, travel, and purposeful projects. Today, when she looks at all of that, does she feel that creativity is the thread connecting Alana the actress and Alana the businesswoman?
Absolutely. I think creativity is what unites Alana the actress, Alana the businesswoman, and Alana the person. I like to act creatively in all aspects of my life, not just at work, but also in my personal life.
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