Premiere Film Screener
Him & Her 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.
The film revolves around the concept of love and hate being inescapably connected. The playfulness, the teasing, the pushing and pulling become behaviours 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.
Him & Her explores how when we love most of our time is spent dealing with mundane tasks, waiting for those rare moments of love for which we are willing to go through anything. In the film this is shown when the female lead goes on stage to perform, as this is the moment her lover falls in love all over again. We never hear her sing as nothing in the world could ever be as beautiful as the way he hears her voice. Similarly, though she performs to an audience, she relishes in being adored by him. With every scene gradually turning redder and redder as we approach the moment of her being on stage, they are both fully aware that as soon as the performance is over and they return to their rooms everything will go back to being grey.
There’s a true rawness to Him & Her. From the cast and cinematography to the sound and styling, there’s a constant battle between contrasting feelings, moods and qualities. Two people capable of being ugly and beautiful at the same time, that equally love and hate one another and can’t stand being in the same room, but would be left empty without each other.
The film is an ode to Russia’s somber and melancholic aesthetic. Featuring garments by Russian labels Lesyanebo and Brier-wear, Him & Her is set across three distinct locations picked for their clear Soviet design: Hotel Che, Hotel Uzkoe and the Central House of Architecture. The Russian identity is equally felt through the lack of dialogue, something which would normally fill a relationship. Unable to openly talk during the Soviet Union, communicating without speaking and focusing on the unsaid has now become part of the Russian way of living.
Him & Her is the first narrative short film directed by Geller. Currently it’s being screened at a range of international film festivals and has won Best Short Film and Best Actress at Cinalfama, Best Short and Best Cinematography at Indie Short Fest and has been nominated for Best Cinematography at ARFF Berlin International Awards.
Bio
Born and raised in Moscow, and based between Paris and Tel Aviv, at the age of sixteen Geller made her way into the world of cinema by attending Russia’s preeminent film school VGIK under the lead of renowned cinematographer Mikhail Agranovich. Her work can be defined as honest and raw, seeking to shed light on some of life’s most intimate moments.
Geller has worked as Director and Director of Photography across Europe, Russia and the Middle East, shooting numerous commercials, documentaries, fashion films, short films and music videos for names such as Adidas, Clean Bandit and Son Little. Her work has screened and been awarded internationally, winning Best Middle Eastern film at Berlin Fashion Film Festival 2017 and a nomination for Best Music Video at the BRITS Awards in 2016.
Credits
Director: Daria Geller (@daria.geller) Script: Asia Fix, Daria Geller Producers: Yuval Orr, Daria Geller Executive Producer: Iftach Aloni
Line Producer: Yana Kurbatova
Cast:
Him: Evgeniy Kharitonov
Her: Miriam Sekhon (@magoga)
Nadya: Anna Bochalova
Alexey: Evgeniy Shwartz (@evgeny_shwartz) Sveta: Irina Nosova (@irinanosova)
Driver: Alexandr Tumbler
Crew:
Cinematographer: Daria Geller
Edit: Daria Geller, Efim Graboy (@efim_graboy) Costumes: Alexandra Kaminer (@sashakaminer) Art Director: Alexandra Smirnova
Art Director Assistant: Ilya Smirnov
Props Master: Danila Shatrov
Production Manager: Alexey Kudrik (@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 (@boogie_makeup)
1st Assistant Director: Yana Vasilik
2nd Assistant Director: Varvara Bialik
Gaffer: Dmitriy startakov
Light assistants: Roman Anshpugov, Igor Astakov
1ac /Cameraman: Michael Dementyev
1ac / Cameraman: Artem Burko (@temaburko)
1ac: Anna Patarakina (@patarakina)
Cameraman: Evegniy Kozlov
Cameraman: Yan Yasinskiy (yan.dop)
Camera Mechanic: Alexander Samoylov
Sound Recordist: Dmitriy Zakharov
Sound Recordist Assistant: Evgenii Grishin
Sound Director: Anton Levkin
Color Correction: Dmitry Litvinov (@litvinovdimaa)
“他与她”的现代诠释是一部简短的故事，由19世纪安东·契ov夫（Anton Chekhov）的两个情人之间的信件组成，他表示，多年来我们的爱情方式一直没有改变。由达里亚·盖勒（Daria Geller）执导的《 Him＆Her》质疑爱情的本质-一个反童话故事，提供了更真实的人际关系描述。这部短片讲述了爱与恨的故事，探讨了有毒的动力，尽管它们不符合社会对浪漫的期望，但它们可以构成爱的内在组成部分。
这部电影围绕着爱与恨的概念不可避免地联系在一起。嬉戏，戏弄，推拉成为这两个主要角色多年来采取的行为-一种内心的爱，他们同时享受和鄙视。在一个不幸的悖论中，只有对我们真正爱的人，我们才感到足够舒服，可以表现出最糟糕的自己。
他和她探讨了当我们热爱大部分时间时如何处理平凡的任务，等待那些我们愿意经历的难得的爱情时刻。在电影中，当女主角上台表演时就可以看到这一点，因为这是她的爱人再次坠入爱河的那一刻。我们再也听不到她的歌声，因为世界上没有什么歌可以像他听到她的声音那样美丽。同样，尽管她向观众表演，但她很喜欢被他崇拜。随着我们接近她在舞台上的那一幕，每个场景都变得越来越红，他们俩都充分意识到，表演结束后，回到房间，一切都会变回灰色。
《 Him＆Her》真正的原始之处。从演员阵容和摄影作品到声音和造型，在对比之下的感觉，情绪和特质之间始终存在争斗。两个人能够同时丑陋和美丽，彼此相爱，彼此憎恨，不能忍受在同一个房间，但彼此之间会空无一人。
这部电影是对俄罗斯的忧郁和忧郁美学的颂歌。 Him＆Her以俄罗斯品牌Lesyanebo和Brier-wear的服装为特色，在三个因其清晰的苏联设计而选择的不同地点设置：Che酒店，Uzkoe酒店和中央建筑房子。缺乏对话同样可以感受到俄罗斯的身份，这种对话通常可以填补一段感情。在苏联时期无法公开讲话，不讲话而进行交流和专注于未说的事情现在已成为俄罗斯生活方式的一部分。
他和她是盖勒执导的第一部叙事短片。目前，它正在一系列国际电影节上放映，并获得了Cinalfama的最佳短片和最佳女主角，Indie Short Fest的最佳短片和最佳摄影，并获得了ARFF柏林国际大奖的最佳摄影提名。
