Between Two Worlds
Basic information
Project Title
Full project title
Category
Project Description
This is a “coming of age” movie and it presents us with two main characters - Tomé and Helena – who are going through difficult stages in their life and will try to overcome these adversities. The arrival of Helena in Elefsina marks the beginning of a journey of introspection, confrontation and learning from their mistakes. Both friends have different views on life and are under pressure which makes them clash. However, they never lose their mutual admiration and the aim to help each other.
Project Region
EU Programme or fund
Description of the project
Summary
The theme of this project is identity. This is a “coming of age” movie and it presents us with two main characters - Tomé and Helena – who are going through difficult stages in their life and will try to overcome these adversities. Helena is a young intelligent actress with a high ambition but since graduating has struggled to find work, what makes her frustrated with the criteria being social media and an ideal of beauty, and rarely the quality of the work. This frustration aligned with some toxic relationships bring her to Eleusis, a city she has already been in two years ago with Tomé (who lives there now). Tomé is a young actor and because of his parents' divorce while he was a teen, he ended up seeking refuge in the virtual world. He finds the attention he did not get from his parents on social media – the place where he feels accepted and problems do not exist. Tomé struggles to believe that someone can love him with no second interest. That is creating tension in his relationship with Katerina, so it is urgent he is able to change and heal. The arrival of Helena in Eleusis marks the beginning of a journey of introspection, confrontation and learning from their mistakes. Both friends have different views on life and ideologies and are under pressure which makes them clash. However, they never lose their mutual admiration and the aim to help each other.
Key objectives for sustainability
We will film in the summer of 2022 in Eleusis and Post-production will occur between 2022 and 2023, so that the film can be shown throughout 2023.
After its premiere in Greece and Portugal, we will promote the film in several festivals across Europe and the world making Eleusis and its culture known worldwide.
Between Two Worlds will show the richness and importance of Greece's ancient history, its monuments and historical places. It will be shot in a city that is fighting for more sustainable ways of living once, for a long time, Eleusis was one of the main industrial centers of the Modern Greek State with concrete factory TITAN, Charilaou Soap Factory as well as the distilleries of Botrys and Kronos being established in the area.
Natural environments and locations will be very present throughout the entire film, including the surrounding sea. This way, we intend to show the natural beauty of this city.
Key objectives for aesthetics and quality
We want to promote the idea of a border free Europe which allows and encourages people to visit and trade cultural experiences. We want to show that everybody deserves to be happy and it is important to search and find a place you can call home. We also aim to show the intricacies of personal relationships in this modern era in which ‘the world is a small place’, but people are further away than ever before.
The original idea was developed by two young artists - Francisco Monteiro Lopes (19), and Maria Romana (21) -, who, because of the lack of artistic opportunities in Portugal, realized they had to develop their own work. Very rapidly we both gathered a group of talented and professional people to be part of this project and to make it happen. Although we are both quite young, we have been part of the casts of several theatre shows, cinema and television projects. However, we never really expected such talented and experienced people in different artistic areas to be so excited about the story and its goals as we are. The director of the film will be, if it gets funded, a very experienced one both in directing and writing for cinema and TV projects - Cláudia Clemente.
The artistic vision of the film aims to be truthful and loyal to the life of Eleusis' inhabitants and its cultural richness, so the images of the film will reflect that.
Key objectives for inclusion
The narrative of the film portrays the interconnection between the two countries - Portugal and Greece. The realization of the film, as we imagine it, will require hiring greek professionals, and a relationship of proximity will be established with the Eleusis’ inhabitants from the research phase until the production itself. In addition to this application, and the one we sent directly to Eleusis in the context of Eleusis - European capital of culture, we intend to get financial support from portuguese institutions. The majority of the film shootings will be done in Eleusis, leaving only some scenes to be filmed in Portugal. This will be a co-production that aims to showcase talent at an international level.
By bringing only the department directors and the essential crew members to Eleusis, we will, with the help of our greek producer, hire local professionals to be part of the cast and crew of the film. Equipment rental, food and lodging will take place in Eleusis, so we will be investing in the city and its community. The exchange of knowledge and experiences between local people and the members of our team will also contribute to include Eleusis' inhabitants in the project.
The fact that we have a greek producer working with us since the beginning of this process makes the integration of researchers, artists and other greek professionals much easier. We want to have the community as an active part of the development of the film.
When the Post-production of the film is finished we will show it in theatres, getting the greek audience to relate with it and its story. The international audiences will be presented with an extremely rich culture that they might not know.
This movie is for people of all ages, since the central message of the feature film is it is never too late to get out of our comfort zone in order to better serve who we really are and our goals, so that we can find happiness.
Innovative character
One of the objectives is to be able to mirror some of the city’s characteristics into the characters: the industrial and capitalist side at first sight are present in Tomé, who lives absorbed in social media, while the classical side is shown in Helena, who is more interested in feeding the mind and the spirit instead of the body. She is the connection to the history and mythology of Eleusis. Supporting actors will also have mythological traits associated with certain gods. (Throughout the story we understand that Tomé in reality is a very simple man and his ambitions match his present reality, to live in the city he feels is his home with the woman he loves, and to perform in that community; while Helena is much more ambitious and dreams of grandeur and worldwide success).
Living this experience in a foreign country and portraying a Europe without borders, they will (re)discover their own identity and will overcome obstacles, allowing them to establish new priorities and make peace with their country and roots, being the portugueses nationality an important part of their identity.
The innovative character of the project starts with the people that are developing it - young artists. It is very rare to see institutions fund projects created by young people, probably because of the fear of failure. Furthermore, Portugal in general, and Eleusis in particular are two very unexplored and unknown territories in artistic terms, so this film would be an opportunity to let people know about these places and their artistic value.
