Libertin has also been cinematically realized by the Film Project under the same name starring Mariana Monteiro & Beatriz Barosa. Konstantin initially first came to Lisbon in 2007 and told me that he is from Germany but he feels most at home in Portugal and says “It has been a journey and I would rather die here than live anywhere else.” He writes for newspapers and magazines and travels a lot through writing stories and features around the world.

This first story is a declaration of love to a city behind which hides a love story. It is about the Portuguese sense of life and all the overlooked poetic trifles of a world spinning too fast. To find what he’s really looking for, he must venture to the very limits of himself.” Konstantin is a free-thinker and told me “I live what I write and I write what I live.” There is no plan behind it, I always wrote as a way to be his own psychologist and I had this urge to express myself but when I moved to Lisbon something happened in me and I became who I am. When you settle somewhere, something happens to you and I met a girl and that also pushed me further.” He went on to tell me that “Libertin is pretty much about arriving into the city and finding love, whilst the next book for instance is about how to keep it and how to live in the city. It is a mixture of look outs and look ins and the city is kind of the metaphor through which he realised how love can work.”

<body9> Libertin is not in epistolary form but “I mean some people say I write letters to the world and the letters have no receiver because they are for all of us.” The reader has a deeper look into Konstantin’s thoughts and feelings and him as a person. “I write along the border line of fiction and non-fiction and I do not hide behind novel figures/ characters. I kind of want to rip that apart and do my own thing.” He also told me, “I distinguish between art and creativity and he believes everyone can be an artist and it not an elitist thing at all and expressing something you are feeling is artistic and to be creative you need to find the freedom and time in the day to focus on you and I think it is all there but it can be washed away in the daily life.”

Konstantin also told me about his passions which includes Portuguese cuisine and wine and that he loves the value that lunch and dinner have here compared to other countries and he enjoys walking in Lisbon, drinking at bars with his girlfriend and friends, old Grand hotels, surf, museums and photography on the side which he includes on his blog (bynd-mag.com) as he loves the mix of photo and text. It’s all about finding that time. As an artist you live a little bit outside society and it is a very energetic field and you are a little bit ahead of time. He passionately believes that a successful artist doesn’t need to be a good one and vice versa. His dream is that “in ten years these stories will become part of his book and that not having everything given to you creates a lot of ambition and everything we want to achieve we can as human beings”, this idea is related to another book idea called on search of days outside of time, covering out classic romantic stories along the old European coasts.

Additionally, Konstantin expressed what a fundamental role his girlfriend, Catarina, has had on him as she really believed in him as a writer and made him take his work seriously. “Catarina is the reason for these stories and putting them out to the world and she is that person that really drives and inspires him.” A lot of people have been making the assumption that Catarina is his muse but he told me that the poetic way is not always true as he thinks the whole muse thing is not true and he wishes to break this whole idea as him and his girlfriend are on eye level and even in his movie people got the wrong idea, Konstantin assures me that their relationship “is very equal and they both inspire each other and he sees women as super inspiring and powerful creatures.”

Libertin - Briefe aus Lissabon

Konstantin also told me that there is a book tour planned to take place in Germany, including his home town. I asked if there were plans for a book tour in Portugal as it has been very well received but he told me that they first need the book to be translated into Portuguese but at the moment the translation costs have not been covered to make this book in Portuguese. “These are the people that should read it because it is an outside perspective of their country.” He also told me that Libertin is available in old bookshops in Lisbon and that he has selected them quite well so he hopes people will make time to find this hidden gem for themselves!

“Libertin" is also the title of the short film based on the book, directed by Pascal Thieret and which has the participation of the Portuguese actresses Mariana Monteiro and Beatriz Barosa. The Director explains the film beautifully: “It requires the viewer to become a part of the film within himself and to fill the resulting space with his own essence, towards an overall picture. It’s about the emotion and memories of the artist, his inner world. A world that I hope is able to inspire and artistically empower people around the globe.” The trailer really has a romantic feel about it and it feels like a classic through the way it is filmed so I went on to ask the author whether he was very involved in the process and how he wanted it to be presented in regards to his vision of the book. Konstantin told me that “there was this young movie director who fell in love with this story and said he wanted to make this into a movie and at first I said no because I was so worried that so much of the story would be lost but then he worked on the script for two years and also my girlfriend worked on the script to make it is a true as possible and as cliché-less as possible because he slighted that it is easy to slide in clichés.

Konstantin was very involved in making it a truthful script and making adjustments when needed. They are a small team, mix of a free director, photographer, producer and the film trailer was in fact filmed in Lisbon and they had two wonderfully talented Portuguese actresses working with us and they have music by a company who works closely with Hanser who has worked with Hans Zimmer and there is a lot of momentum but covid came and it stopped production and now there is a problem with the financing which they need to resume filming. They are waiting for this and they are very open to a natural cooperation, who understand his vision and wish to invest in a project that is being so well received. They are still looking for supporters for this project, so if you are interested, please contact them via: pascal.thieret@googlemail.com or hello@adriankuchenreuther.com.

Finally, if you are interested in watching this incredible trailer, please check out www.libertin-film.com. Additionally, for more information and to keep up to date with Konstantin’s latest work and events please check out https://proof-verlag.de/libertin-landingpage/ and http://www.konstantinarnold.de/.


Author

Following undertaking her university degree in English with American Literature in the UK, Cristina da Costa Brookes moved back to Portugal to pursue a career in Journalism, where she has worked at The Portugal News for 3 years. Cristina’s passion lies with Arts & Culture as well as sharing all important community-related news.

Cristina da Costa Brookes