Alan Minas’ Luiza’s Desert is a deeply moving coming-of-age drama that explores adolescence, grief, and the emotional weight of growing up while caring for a parent struggling with mental illness. At the heart of the film is Nina Prado, whose performance as Luiza anchors the film with remarkable vulnerability and quiet strength.
Following the film’s premiere, I had the opportunity to speak with Prado about bringing Luiza to life, balancing innocence with emotional trauma, collaborating with director Alan Minas, and the challenges of portraying a young girl forced to grow up far sooner than she should.
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What was it about Luiza that initially drew you to the role, and what made you want to tell her story?
Nina Prado:
Luiza grabbed hold of me from the very beginning. She has a duality that completely fascinates me. At the same time that she carries this immense, poetic sensitivity, she also possesses a quiet strength that allows her to endure everything life throws at her.
I’m someone who feels deeply connected to art and to expressing what’s inside me in an intense way. Seeing a young girl overflowing with emotion made me desperately want to lend her my body and my voice.
I felt I needed to tell her story because Luiza represents so many of us who are forced to grow up a little faster than we ever expected.
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Luiza experiences many of life’s milestones while also navigating her mother’s declining mental health. How did you approach balancing those moments of innocence with the emotional weight she carries throughout the film?
Nina Prado:
It was a very delicate process—almost like a dance. In real life, pain and beauty exist side by side, don’t they?
I tried to stay fully present in each scene. Whenever Luiza was experiencing the discoveries of adolescence, I allowed myself to embrace that lightness, that joy, that freshness of simply being fifteen years old.
But the weight of her mother’s condition was always there, lingering like a shadow in her eyes. That balance came from understanding that Luiza never chose to carry this burden—she’s simply trying to survive while loving her mother and discovering the world around her.
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Art becomes an important form of expression for Luiza. How did you develop that aspect of her character, and what do you think her drawings reveal about her?
Nina Prado:
As a dancer and a poet, I know exactly what it’s like to be unable to put into words the things that are tearing you apart inside.
For Luiza, her drawings are her true manifesto. They’re the one place where she doesn’t have to be strong—where she can release both her monsters and her beauty.
I worked a lot on the way she held the pencil, the rhythm of every stroke.
I think her drawings reveal everything she’s too afraid to say out loud: her fear of abandonment, her loneliness, but also her deep desire to connect with other people.
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Much of your performance relies on subtle expressions and quiet moments rather than dialogue. What was your process for conveying Luiza’s emotions in those scenes?
Nina Prado:
Silence on screen can speak louder than any long speech, can’t it?
My process was very internal and very physical. I focused on the emotional energy Luiza was carrying inside her—that feeling of holding her breath.
Instead of trying to “act,” I simply tried to feel the weight of each moment and let my eyes—and the camera—do the rest.
When you’re completely surrendered to the moment, silence develops an incredibly powerful texture.
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One of the film’s most memorable moments is Luiza’s first kiss. What conversations did you have with Alan Minas about what that scene represented in her emotional journey?
Nina Prado:
That scene is especially magical and meaningful to me because Luiza’s first kiss was also my first kiss in real life.
I had just turned fourteen when I played her, so you can imagine how nervous and excited I was.
Alan was incredible, and we talked a lot about how, at first, Luiza experiences love like a perfect fairy tale—the romantic escape she desperately needed.
But her journey isn’t a cliché. She experiences heartbreak, realizes that life isn’t perfect, and by the end she finds herself alone—but happy.
She allowed herself to experience that love with all the innocence of a fifteen-year-old, and it was beautiful to see how that helped shape her emotional maturity.
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Luiza shares several emotionally complex scenes with the actress portraying her mother. How did the two of you build that relationship before and during filming?
Nina Prado:
It was built entirely on trust and genuine connection.
We spent a great deal of time together before filming, talking, getting to know one another, building intimacy, and understanding each other’s boundaries and emotional triggers.
Once we were on set, there was enormous mutual respect between us.
During the most emotionally demanding scenes, we’d simply look at each other and know that we were in a safe space.
That sense of partnership was essential in making their relationship—and its pain—feel so real and visceral on screen.
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As the story progresses, Luiza begins to see her family differently while still trying to hold onto her childhood. How did you approach portraying that gradual emotional transition?
Nina Prado:
It’s the kind of grief that comes when you realize your parents are human—that they’re flawed—and that your childhood is coming to an end.
I wanted to build that transition very gradually.
At first, Luiza still clings to the idea of protecting that perfect little world she knows.
As the story progresses, her posture changes, her gaze becomes more mature—more mature than someone her age should have to be.
It’s painful, but it’s also the moment when she truly becomes the protagonist of her own life.
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Was there a particular scene that challenged you the most emotionally or technically, and what made it stand out?
Nina Prado:
Without a doubt, the confrontation scene with her mother.
It’s the moment when Luiza finally releases everything she’s been holding inside her, but the greatest pain comes immediately afterward.
At the same time she’s letting all those emotions out, she’s overwhelmed by guilt because her mother isn’t truly present mentally.
She screams, she lets everything out, and then suddenly realizes, “Why did I do that? She’s not even hearing me. My real mother isn’t here anymore in this moment.”
Acting opposite that psychological absence—feeling alone even while standing beside her—hurt me deeply and demanded a level of emotional commitment I’ll never forget.
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What was your collaboration with Alan Minas like in shaping Luiza’s performance from the script to the finished film?
Nina Prado:
Working with Alan was an incredible learning experience.
He gave me so much freedom to bring my own nuances to Luiza—to make suggestions and leave part of myself within the character.
During rehearsals, we refined the script together, transforming dialogue into genuine emotion.
Alan truly trusts his actors, and that trust allowed me to soar and dedicate myself completely, body and soul, to the role.
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After living with Luiza throughout production, what do you hope audiences understand most about her by the end of the film?
Nina Prado:
More than understanding Luiza herself, I hope audiences understand the film’s message.
I hope people watch this story and recognize the human ability to find our own voice, even during life’s most desolate moments.
By the end, Luiza discovers herself. She discovers the strength of her own voice.
I want audiences to leave the theater knowing that, no matter how painful growing up and facing life’s storms can be, we are capable of standing on our own feet and finding our own light.