Yahoo Lifestyle ‘Three Kilometers To The End Of The World’ Filmmakers Sound Off On Decision To Favor Nature Over Music – Contenders International
There are 16 types of wind sounds — and no music — in Three Kilometers to the End of the World, Romania’s submission to the International Feature Oscar race this year.
Director and co-writer Emanuel Pârvu told Deadline’s Contenders Film: International that the choice was made because, “We wanted to make an actual experience of how you can feel a sequence much more deeper through nature, not through enhancing with director tips and tricks; we just wanted to
to go beyond realism to go into naturalism.” The location also lent itself to that as Pârvu calls the Danube Delta wetlands region “a visual paradise.”
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However, the story is far from Eden. The film, which premiered in competition in Cannes (where it won the Queer Palme), deals with themes of repression and denial, ignorance, pride, cruelty, love, nature and contradiction. It revolves around a 17-year-old who is spending the summer in his home village in the Danube Delta. One night, he is brutally attacked outside the only dance club in town — and the next day his world has capsized.
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The young man is a member of the LGBTQ community, and after the beating, his parents no longer look at him as they used to, while the seeming tranquility of the village starts to crack.
Pârvu explained that the idea for the film and its sort of emotional map of the community was sparked a decade ago by a rape case in Romania when “all the community turned against the victim.” It led he and co-writer and producer Miruna Berescu to think, “Why do people choose to attack always a minority?… It’s something we really must work on, we as human beings.”
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Berescu says she was “drawn to the idea of love… unconditional love, the one that we are supposed to receive as children from our parents… and that part of the story that has to do with the way we think we love our children.”
While Romania has had only one nomination in this race, its influence is undeniable — the category was overhauled when Cristian Mungiu’s lauded 2007 Palme d’Or winner 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days failed to advance to the shortlist.
Honored to represent Romania this year, Pârvu said he was hoping for a shortlist mention in order for the film to reach a wider audience. “I know a film can’t change the world — I wasn’t born yesterday — but I think a film can raise questions.”
Check out the panel video above.
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