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Cast:
Soko, Jérémie Lippmann, Vladimir Fridman, Ania Bukstein, Martin Nissen, Alexandre Chacon
Production:
Les Films du Poisson, Vandertastic Films, Amérique Film, Rock Films
Program:
Studio Cinema -
Thursday, April 10, 2014 - 18:00
Studio Cinema -
Friday, April 11, 2014 - 14:00
Original title:
Les Interdits
Section:
Written by:
Anne Weil & Philippe Kotlarski
Synopsis:
The year is 1979. Because Jérome is in love with Carole, his cousin, because she wants to support the cause of the Jews in the Soviet Union, but especially because both of them are aged 20, the two embark on an adventure behind the Iron Curtain. In Odessa, they act as tourists during the day, and meet Jews who want to emigrate from USSR and are harassed by the Soviet authorities during the night. All changes when Viktor asks Jérome for a favor, and the latter has to choose between law and morals.
Director:
A graduate in Cinema and History of the School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences in Paris, Anne Weil is one of the scriptwriters of LAND OF OBLIVION, Michale Boganim’s feature debut, as well as BABY LOVE, a Nathalie Najem project currently in production. She is preparing her second feature as a director, CHACUN SON TOUR. Philip Kotlarski begins his film making career as an editor on the documentary ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE ’60S (1976), and then an assistant director on the feature comedy DON’T TOUCH ME… (1977). His short AN ENTIRE DAY WITH NO LIES (1995) is selected to take part in the competition of the International Short Film Festival at Clermont-Ferrand. In 1999, he works as an editor for Michel Gondry’s LA LETTRE / THE LETTER.
Statement:
Politics and love starts off as a game in Anne Weil and Philippe Kotlarski’s movie, but their combination quickly turns into no less than a matter of life and death. An exciting, but at the same time haunting story about roots that refuse to be cut. Between January 1948 and May 1991, 1,300,000 Jews left USSR for Israel and the USA. More than two thirds managed to flee the Soviet space after 1987, when a meeting between presidents Reagan and Gorbachev in Washington is preceded by a protest where 200,000 people attend. The forgotten story of the refuseniks, strangers in their own country, is brought to light in this movie about a double adventure. The two paths, political and personal, prove to be as winding, but the gift of (re)discovery is well worth it.