to know to be

WHAT’S THE PROJECT ABOUT?

To know to be is a short film that intertwines two stories, two fragments, two similar moments of different relationships. In Belgrade and in Catalonia, the film explores solitude, emotional dependency, obsession and jealousy. Through Eoin and Abril’s eyes, we are thrown into the freefall you feel when you realise you’ve lost yourself in somebody else.

To know to be is a statement of intensity, a semi-surrealist sketch of how romantic relationships shake us up. The story focuses on a type of pain we generally go through alone. Our aim is to explore how this type of relationship can end up reconfiguring our relationship with ourself.

The projects stems from the friendship between people who live far away and the will to tell a story to bring them closer to each other.

SYNOPSIS

Abril has an image stuck in her head and can’t get rid of it. She’s gone to her grandma’s village for a few days, to be alone and disconnect from her busy routine. But she can’t get it out of her head, and the image of the girl chases her, disturbing her quest for calmness, making her dance to the rhythm of a desire that bears her to another place.

Eoin’s boyfriend has had to move to Belgrade for work and he’s decided to go with him. He makes the move for love and has started working in a kitchen.He’s adapting to this new life. But his boyfriend’s mum suddenly falls sick and he immediately goes off to take care of her, leaving Eoin all alone in Belgrade.

While Eoin looks for a way to cope with the emptiness his partner leaves, Abril will have to learn to deal with the intrusive thoughts that flow in and out of her mind relentlessly, like waves.

WHO WE ARE

At the core of the project are four young people from around Europe, brought together by our need to make films outside of the industry, in our own way and at our own pace. To know to be is a completely self-organised project. Its very nature shapes the way we plan and work together.

The way we work is every bit as important as what we do. We paying the greatest attention to every little detail and step of the project. Beyond each person’s specific role in the team, everyone has had space to make comments and suggestions. The making of to know to be was a truly collective process.

THE TEAM

Giona Sem (he/him), director of photography and editor: Freelance editor, graduate in Film and TV studies with practical training obtained at Prague Film School. Sara approached me over a year ago with an idea for a short film. I dived into the project, committing to its creation through collaborative work between friends.

Ana Nedeljkovic (she/her), Belgrade producer and sound recordist from Belgrade, living in Sweden. Studying jazz inspired me to leave the north and head to Prague and study film, where I met Giona. I crossed paths with Sara when she was beginning to give shape to her idea and I leapt ino the project that connects friends from around the world with the goal of making a film.

Irina Canyet Garcia (she/her), Catalonia producer and art director: from Catalonia, living in Barcelona and graduate in Anthropology. Exploring audiovisual language to find the bridge between social sciences and film. I've also studied documentary film making, and since Sara and Giona shared this project with us, we've been meeting regularly to make it happen.

Sara Leigh Acedo (she/her), director: From Barcelona, graduate in anthropology. I came in touch with film through working with the British production company Duckrabbit. Giona and I lived together in the UK and often spoke about possible projects to do together. Now we're living thousands of kilometres apart and it's actually happening!

Since September 2022, we’ve been working long-distance, meeting remotely every week. This hasn’t proved to be a drawback, quite the opposite: the fact that the team is scattered around Europe makes sense considering the story we’re telling.

The film draws commonalities between two simultaneous experiences in far-away places, it’s a bridge that joins Abril and Eoin’s emotional landscapes. In the same way pre-production and shooting have brought us all together, acting like a bridge between our different lives.

Abril Carretero Balcells (she/her) plays Abril and is’ also in charge of dressing all the actors. In Belgrade she likewise took care of feeding the team. From Barcelona, a Fine Arts graduate, she's a multi-faceted and interdisciplinary artist. Since the script began to crystalise it was clear the the role was to be hers.

Pau Bagés (he/him) plays Eoin: From St Feliu de Llobregat, Pau finished his training at Col·legi del teatre in Barcelona. Pau and Sara met at a party and a few months later she contacted him to ask him if he wanted the role.

Jana Sandiumenge (she/her): actress, currently completing her studies in Physical Theatre at l'Institut del Teatre in Barcelona. Aside from acting she's also helped a lot with actor direction.

Nayarit Fuentes Licht (she/her): actress. From Madrid, co-creator of "7 Minutos de Gloria", performer and dancer. Her residency in Can Serrat allowed her to move across Catalonia to come and shoot with us.

Vladimir Stankovic(he/him): actor. From Belgrade, innovative vet who works especially with horses. He's been in a handful of shoots in Serbia as an actor.

Elena Caldovic (she/her): actress. Works at Funky Chicken, the kitchen who opened their doors to us to shoot in Belgrade.

Milos Jevtović (he/him): actor. Civil engineer specialised in legal consultancy in Belgrade. He was very happy to participate in the project.

Carme Garcia (she/her): actress. Physiotherapist based in l'Empordà. Ready to give us a helping hand whenever we needed it.

Maria Baltiérrez (she/her): Cook and production assistant in Catalonia.

Irina Venus Solà (she/her): Illustrator and project designer, based in Barcelona. Cook during the shoot in Catalonia.

WHERE YOU COME IN

So, this is a small, self-organised, cross-border project. We’ve travelled many kilometres to shoot the film! We’ve chosen to shoot the project in a most human way, seeking to minimise stress as much as possible and cover everybody’s needs and expenses. We’ve chosen verkami as the means to fund the project because it’s trust-based and, as opposed to other sources, grants us complete creative freedom.

Your support is what will allow us to make this film from head to toe, and we’re excited to give you a little piece of it in exchange. We’ve prepared a series of unique rewards just for you!

It’s been a pleasure to work with Irina Venus Solà, Barcelona/based illustrator and tattoo artist . She’s brought to know to be to life with her drawings, designing a few very special merchandising articles, unique to this verkami.

Apart from these, you’ll also see we’ve got a variety of non-material rewards available for you.

Sound and music are very important to navigating through Eoin and Abrils’ stories. Ana (Ofiuca Nunca) and Mateo (Cuarteto Rhizoma) are currently composing the soundtrack, which you’ll also be able to access as a sponsor.

Finally, you’ll be able to access the link for the film once it’s ready, exclusive BTS pictures, copies of the script… And your name will appear in the credits, leaving a mark of your support on the actual film.

Below you’ll find each reward pack listed with everything it includes: you’ll see, there’s a lot to choose from!

Look through them with eagle eyes, there’ll be one just right for you!

WHERE EXACTLY WILL YOUR MONEY GO?

Shooting was the most expensive part of making the film:

· Transport was our main expense, we need to cover the cost of the team traveling to and from Serbia and Catalonia. We also need to cover moving between locations in both countries.

· Food: feeding everyone well enough to be able to get through quite a few consecutive days of shooting, appease their hungriness and strive for happiness.

· Although we’ve worked with very simple equipment, we’ve also had to rent material. Even though we’ve been able to do so cheaply, it also adds to the cost.

In post-production our expenses are much lower, but we will need money to distribute the film once it’s all finished. We want to enter to know to be in various festivals, for it to be screened in different places around Europe.

Funnily enough, all the rewards we’re preparing for you also cost moeny! But we guarantee you’ll be satisfied!! Part of the money we make will go to pay verkami for their services.

It’s been over a year now since we started working on to know to be. In September 2022 Giona and Sara started having weekly meetings and writing the script together. In February ‘23, after many drafts, the script was declared good to go. During the process, we were lucky enough to also get input from Ana and Irina, who provided feedback and suggestions to help us overcome the gaps and barriers we bumped into on the way.

In Febuary we started pre-production and established we were going to shoot in September, and we assigned specific roles to each person on the team. We also began looking for and confirming actors and locations.

We shot between the 19th and the 30th of September in Belgrade and l’Empordà.

In November Sara and Giona got together for two weeks to edit the first rough cut of the film.

There is still a lot of post-production to do!

Mateo and Ana are composing the soundtrack and we continue to work on the editing. Once we are happy with the edit, we will continue working on the sound and colour design.

We think the film will be ready to go in Spring 2024! As soon as it is, we’ll be able to deliver your rewards.

SOCIALS

If you want to keep up with everything we’re doing, follow us on instagram @saberestarfilm :)