“Him & Her” By Daria Geller

The short film IN MEDIAS RUSH is an experimental cinematic journey into the depths of a manic mind. A poetic retro-sci-fi narrative unfolded in a string of unsettling tableaus that encapsulates the male protagonist’s ambiguous feelings about his birthday. While balancing between realities in his silent struggle with severe mental illness, we plunge into the film at a neatly orchestrated birthday party. The protagonist is accompanied by his girlfriend, and they are drinking cocoa on the couch in their mutual home. The setting breathes pure perfection, but through the voice over we sense that another reality is soon to be revealed. With one foot on the accelerator, he is heading towards the edge. The thematic focal point of IN MEDIAS RUSH is mental health problems among young adults, and the social/personal consequences related to the existing taboo on the subject. The film wishes to formulate an honest cinematic space in which words, sound, and image artistically interprets and articulates some of the perspectives related to especially bipolar, anxiety, and psychotic disorders. IN MEDIAS RUSH was nominated in the category 'Best Danish Short Film' at Copenhagen Short Film Festival in 2020. Original title: IN MEDIAS RÆS Directed by: Esben Persson -------------------- DK: IN MEDIAS RÆS IN MEDIAS RÆS er en filmisk rejse ind i dybderne af et manisk sind. En ung mand fejrer sin fødselsdag, mens hans tanker tordner afsted. Med en uvillig fod på speederen har han kurs mod kanten. FR: IN MEDIA RES IN MEDIA RES est un voyage dans les profondeurs d’un esprit maniaque. Un jeune homme fête son anniversaire tandis que ses pensées se multiplient. Malgré lui, il se dirige vers un point de non-retour. -------------------- Cast: Peter Alexander Bach & Amanda Overby Drew Director // Script writer // Set designer // Costume designer // Editor // Speaker: Esben Persson Photographer // Editor: Lasse Mølsted Producer: Latifa Lykke Ben Mabrouk Assistant producer: Cecilie Creutsberg Music composer: Martin Bejder Sound designer: Mads Hye Chief Lighting Technician: Rasmus Bruun Liboriussen VFX: Jonas Fonnesbæk Lodahl Colorist: Kristopher Paterson Graphic designer: Jakob Toft Kristensen -------------------- Shot on RED Monstro 8K with Lomo Squarefront Anamorphics.

Synopsis

A modern interpretation of “He & She”, a short story consisting of letters between two lovers written by Anton Chekhov in the 19th century, “Him & Her” illustrates how the way we love hasn’t changed over the years. Directed by Daria Geller, “Him & Her” questions the nature of love - an anti fairy tale offering a more realistic depiction of relationships. A tale of love and hate, the short film explores toxic dynamics which, though they don’t fit into society’s expectations of romance, can form an intrinsic part of love.

Directors statement

The film revolves around the concept of love and hate being inescapably connected. The playfulness, the teasing, the pushing and pulling become behaviors that the two main characters have adopted over the years - a visceral way of loving which they thoroughly enjoy and despise at the same time. In an unfortunate paradox, only with the ones that we truly love do we feel comfortable enough to show the worst of ourselves.

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Credits

Director: Daria Geller
Script: Asia Fix, Daria Geller
Producers: Yuval Orr, Daria Geller
Executive Producer: Iftach Aloni
Line Producer: Yana Kurbatova

Starring:
Him: Evgeniy Kharitonov
Her: Miriam Sekhon
Nadya: Anna Bochalova
Alexey: Evgeniy Shwartz
Sveta: Irina Nosova
Driver: Alexandr Tumbler

Cinematographer: Daria Geller
Edit: Daria Geller, Efim Graboy
Costumes: Alexandra Kaminer
Art Director: Alexandra Smirnova
Art Director Assistant: Ilya Smirnov
Props Master: Danila Shatrov
Production Manager: Alexey Kudrik
Music: Roi Keidar
Closing Song: Anna Pinskaya with Leonhard Kuhn, Marina Rojkova. Lyrics by Marina Tsvetaeva
Makeup Artist: Alisa Bo
Makeup Assistant: Olya Boogie
1st Assistant Director: Yana Vasilik
2nd Assistant Director: Varvara Bialik
Gaffer: Dmitriy startakov
Light assistants: Roman Anshpugov, Igor Astakov
1st AC: Michael Dementyev
1st AC: Artem Burko
1st AC: Anna Patarakina
Cameraman: Evegniy Kozlov
Cameraman: Yan Yasinskiy
Camera Mechanic: Alexander Samoylov
Sound Recordist: Dmitriy Zakharov
Sound Recordist Assistant: Evgenii Grishin
Sound Director: Anton Levkin
Colorist: Dmitry Litvinov