The hybrid documentary Silence is the Enemy of the Sea makes for an intriguing prospect. In the film, the barred windows of a large house face nothing other than the sea. The inhabitants, unaware of their confinement, are lulled day and night by marine songs.
The synopsis further explains how “on command, the residents go back to their rooms to read, pray or rest. But one of them refuses to follow the established routine. Instead, he runs out onto the actual sea shore with his radio and climbs a cliff surrounded by crashing waves.”
The documentary is directed by Taipei-based Dina Karaman and France-based Evgeny Rodin, and produced by Vladimir Nadein (Dénapá, France). “The project’s hybrid and docufiction nature, coupled with the fact that it was shot in a difficult-to-access location and later narrated as not belonging to any specific geography, could appeal to audiences by moving it away from the documentary and towards fiction, or even a musical,” the trio tells Business doc Europe.
“Producers in Azerbaijan and Austria [Jol Filmproduktion, Mandarin Production] fully trusted us because they knew us from previous work, and they came on board at either the development or rough-cut stage.”
Pacing is crucial, the makers underline. “The combination of static shots, slow panoramas and long-duration shots creates a leisurely narrative rhythm that emphasise the enclosed nature of hospital life,” they write. “The shots focus either on the characters’ interaction with the enclosed environment, which is only penetrated by light from the sea through the windows, or on the characters’ inner experiences, cutting out all excess detail. The camera shifts to close-ups, extracting the person from the space in an attempt to connect with them and give the viewer the opportunity to simply be beside them.”
“In the film, we construct a docu-fictional space in which marine songs in various languages from different political regimes echo through a diegetic radio system. These broadcasts resemble state propaganda which creates an illusion of knowledge, in this case about the sea. Representing freedom and infinity, the sea is intended to contrast the confined environment of the hospital,” they add.
At CineLink, producer Nadein is looking for co-pro partners and post-production houses to close the funding gap (€35,000) or contribute in-kind with post-production services to complete the film. He is looking to attach a sales agent, find festival distribution, impress programmers and secure the “right venue” for the film’s world premiere. “We believe the film could be shown at both fiction and documentary film festivals, as it exists in between the two. We can definitely see it being presented at festivals that take risks with their programming.”
“Evgeny and Dina are a unique combination. Not only are they co-directors, but Evgeny is also the director of photography on the film, while Dina is an editor,” Nadein adds of the film’s helmers. “Evgeny’s approach to photography allowed him to access very challenging space and subject without ever being harmful or invasive, his camera is always careful and cautious. Dina is a subtle and sensitive artist with an incredible sense of balance, rhythm and, most importantly, the flow of time within the frame. Her remarkable ability to transcend the given circumstances enables the film to acquire new and sometimes very unexpected fundamental dimensions.”
An ideal take-away from CineLink would be a prize, but the eyes of the team are fixed on a point further down the line. “The most valuable thing is the new connections and potential partnerships that can be formed in the future. You never know where events like CineLink might lead in the long term,” they sign off.
