Synopsis
June 10th, 1920. My name is Ferdinand Rufo. I’m 10 years old. This morning I killed a man swimming by my house. It was an accident. I threw a rock in the lake. He drowned. He’s my neighbour’s father. I think nobody saw me.
June 10th, 1973. My name is Barbara Rufo. I’m 20 years old. I’m a professional high plain diver. In a few moments, I’m going to jump off the 10-meter diving board. I’m pregnant and I haven’t told anyone. I do not want this child. When my body hits the water, the child will die.
June 10th, 2009. My name is Léo Stoléru. I’m 36 years old and I’m Barbara’s son. I’ve messed everything up again. In a couple of minutes, my car will leave the road and crash into a wall. At ten past eleven, my soul will leave my body.
Script & intention
“A mental trauma is an event too harsh, horrible, monstrous and bestial for the spirit and heart that our individual and collective mental structures have trouble absorbing such as the bombing of a city (…) an incest or rape (…) This event, buried deep within, is transmitted from the parents’ unconsciousness to their children’s. As long as it does not hit the surface, as long as it is not voiced, it is bound to return.”
Anne Ancelin Schützenberger.
Inside is based on data produced over the past 40 years coming from researchers and practitioners in the field of trans-generational phenomena. This data stems from the observed repetition of certain phenomena over several generations independently from all genetic factors.
Inside follows a spiral-like structure progressing from the exterior towards the centre. The main characters, Léo, Barbara and Ferdinand are first presented through their outer traits. The film then describes their inner realm composed of the fears and feelings of guilt we all keep secret. It finally reaches the core, the initial traumatic incident that dates back 90 years.
The body is the essential vessel through which transmission and repetition occur. The spectators are brought to feel Barbara and Ferdinand’s inner struggle as they are presented their childhood traumas, an overabundance of feelings that eventually lead their inner systems to breakdown. Violent oppositions in terms of frame size, the rapid alternating of inner sounds and silences and large shots of wounded body parts are all elements that will be used to induce the crisis as it unfolds.
The vast array of places and actions and the constant rummaging through the characters’ stories will lead to a complex visual setup in which the camera comes and goes in time freely. The camera will move within a timeframe dictated by the story’s internal inflexions.
There are several reasons for having chosen Canada as our shooting location. The Rufos and Stolérus are both families with a heavy immigrant background. This diversity of origins, languages and cultural heritages is a theme that I wanted to explore. Canada as a country offers a contrast, both visual and symbolic, in the existing divide between traditional native communities and modern everyday life. Finally, nature, ice, icebergs and Canadian landscapes in general are all essential components, both from a narrative and symbolic perspective.
Budget & financing
Through Shilo Films, I have produced the films of international directors such as Raphael Nadjari (US and Israel), Khaled Ghorbal (Tunisia) and Konstantin Bojanov (Bulgaria). I developed and produced Laurent de Bartillat’s first feature, The Vanishing Point, an original French film, with a budget of 1.6 M €, that was successfully released in France and abroad. Inside is Laurent’s second feature: an auteur film with a medium-sized budget. The story takes place in Canada over different historical periods.
The film-shoot will take place there, along with a few sequences filmed in a studio, either in Canada or Europe. The film will be a co-production between France, Canada, and a possible third country, which could be Italy, Germany, or Belgium. Canada should cover approximately 25 to 30% of the budget.
I am currently looking for co-producers in these countries. The French part should reunite the partners that financed Laurent’s first film: the CNC (including the Franco-Canadian fund), pay TV Canal+ and Cinécinéma, the Sofica Cofinova (which already funds the development), plus a free public TV (France 2 or France 3), as well as a distribution advance. As for funding from Canada, we are expecting both federal and regional subsidies (Telefilm Canada and Sodec), and a tax credit.
The third co-producing country could base its financing on studio spending and/or post-production, as we have no spending obligation
in France.
Besides TorinoFilmLab, the project this year participated in the Transatlantic Partner workshop (project by Canadian Strategic Partner, Canada, and Erich Pommer Institut, Germany). The event happened in two work sessions, in Berlin and Halifax, focusing on the legal and financial aspects of co-productions between Europe and Canada.
Distribution & sales
The script is still being written and will be completed by the end of 2009. Casting has already begun and our goal is to approach distributors and sales representatives with a complete screenplay, the main cast, and foreign co-producers already in place.
Like The Vanishing Point, Laurent’s first feature dealing with the mysteries of painting, Inside is a film with a strong theme: the body’s memory and its influence on the psychology of an entire family. Inspired by recent studies, which shatter many of our prejudices, the film will be the subject of discussions and debates.
Its subject is universal: our relationship to the past and our fate within a family.
The distribution of the film should focus on this aspect through marketing, press, and film-related special events, debates and meetings with the audience.
The film’s structure and aspect are unconventional, and very creative. It’s an auteur film with a strong subject and a commercial potential. Given the financing structure, we need to find a distributor in each of the co-producing countries (France, Canada, 3rd country), and a foreign sales agent who will guarantee an amount in MG, pre-sales, and/or co-production.
We hope to premiere in an important international festival, which would give the film a label for the media and the market.