Synopsis
András Hatházi (as Tavi) does a very good job in portraying the discomfort of not belonging. His performance is very much similar to the level of discomfort that Viorel portrays in his relationship with others in “Aurora” (2010, dir. Cristi Puiu). “Borders” does not use the Western, outer space as a collection of postcards – although the places it chooses to represent are certainly beautifully pictorial — but brings them to life through Tavi, making us perceive them through his filter, the filter of a completely alienated man who is now losing his last remaining hope.
Directed by: Andra Hera
Cast: András Hatházi, Carmen Ungureanu, Mickael Durard, Marie-France Alvarez
Script: Andra Hera
Producer: Daniel Mitulescu
Cinematography by: Barbu Bălășoiu
Edited by: Dan Ștefan Pârlog
Sound: Olivier Pelletier, Damien Guillaume, Matthieu Tibi
Year: 2017
Category: short film
Genre: Psychological Drama
Duration: 27 minutes
11,546 – Cinepub viewers
PLOT SUMMARY
A story following the internal and emotional borders that are traced out between two human beings; the borders that separate us before everything.
AWARDS:
- Euroshorts Gdanks International Film Festival – Poland – Best Fiction Short film award
- Short Film Corner – nominated for the Romanian Gopo Awards (2019)
TRIVIA:
- The film is a Romanian-French co-production, supported by the Romanian CNC, Canal+ TV channel, the Paris City Hall and the French CNC.
- It premiered at the Gent Film Festival (Belgium), was selected at numerous international festivals and was nominated for the 2019 Gopo Awards.
- Andra Hera studied, in parallel, the courses of two law faculties – the State University and the French College of European Studies. Later, she went on a scholarship to study in a Master’s program in International Public Law in Paris. “But the whole time at law school was extremely difficult. I didn’t belong there. Besides, I was stubbornly against myself to prove that I could cope.” (A.H.)
- Later, after graduating from ESRA film school (Paris), Andra returned to Romania, where she worked with some of the main production companies in Bucharest as assistant director, assistant director, casting director or executive producer.
- About her artistic process, the director says: “I am passionate beyond words about the director’s work with the actor, especially when I find in them partners with whom I can search without restraint for an emotional truth without which the cinema loses its value and interest for me. When I see the actors, even non-professionals, coming out of their shells – with my help, of course – and having the courage to take off their masks, I feel that I have a purpose. I feel that that man finally meets himself and challenges us, the audience, to dare to do that in our daily lives. That’s why, although I greatly respect the work of documentary filmmakers, I consider myself primarily a fiction filmmaker.”
- On her personal interests and pursuits, she adds, “I’m very interested in understanding who we are as individuals and what makes us who we are. What is our psychic, emotional heritage and how do we choose to look at it? I’m very interested in family stories, the relationships between parents and children; our relationship with the past and how memory adjusts to validate the image we have constructed of ourselves and those around us. But I am also very interested in altruism, generosity and stories that involve a stake of conscience, a moral responsibility.”
- The movie locations were carefully chosen: “I really enjoyed scouting locations for “Borders”, which was filmed in and around Paris. In preparation, together with my assistant director, I traveled the length and breadth of Paris – tens of kilometers every day, often ending up in the suburbs. For each scene, I was interested in a certain kind of space – first of all, one that was not reminiscent of tourist Paris. As scouting time was tight, I found locations even by walking the city streets on Google maps from Bucharest, which takes a lot of patience, I would tend to say.” (A.H.)
- One of the director’s favorite films is Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s “Distant” / “Uzak”.
LINES:
“You mean you’d rather stay here looking after some stinking French people than your own?” – Tavi (András Hatházi)
“You said you were going back home this year. The house is finished. Why are you still staying here?” – Tavi (András Hatházi)
“It took me a long time to realize since I’ve been here… what sad people we are. We never knew how to enjoy ourselves. Obsessed with work and money…” – Angela (Carmen Ungureanu)
“Are you still my wife?”
“What do you mean?
“Are you?” – Tavi (András Hatházi) and Angela (Carmen Ungureanu)
ARTICLES:
- Borders – andrahera.ro
- Andra Hera: I’m fascinated by the way the voice says something essential about who we are as individuals and who we try to give the impression we are to others. – iqads.ro
- “I think it’s good to know what you want as clearly as possible and at the same time to let reality enrich the project you’re working on.“/ Andra Hera, director – thewoman.ro
- How life can become a movie script, with Andra Hera – screenwriter, director and maybe even your mentor in the Meaningful Scripts course – happ.ro
- Andra Hera: “What is important to me is a certain truth of the character” – radioromaniacultural.co.uk
