Bora Bora - Festival del film Locarno

Bora Bora
A short movie by Bogdan Mirica
Production Company: MediaPro Pictures (www.mediapropictures.com)
Contact: Raluca Coman
Strada Studioului, Nr. 1
Buftea, Jud Ilfov, Romania
Tel: +40 31 82 51 129
Mobile: +40 744 490 812
Look on IMDB.com for “Bora Bora (II)”
Put a LIKE on Facebook.com fan page: “BORA BORA short film”
SYNOPSIS
It’s scorching hot. Land is dry; air suffocating.
ION is a fisherman living in a small village in Dobrogea – one of the most droughtaffected areas in the Romania. There’s no fish to fish here, no crops to grow anymore.
Today is a day like any other day. Left with nothing to do, Ion lingers in the house,
watching TV and killing time.
When MARIA, his wife, comes in, a quarrel is about to burst. Although the woman
acknowledges just as much as her husband that they are facing a dead end, she won’t
resign herself and keeps pushing Ion to go out on the sea. Ion is sick and tired of this
same argument they’ve been having lately. The inability to provide for his loved one
frustrates him a great deal and Maria’s confronting him annoys him even more. Not to
mention the boat is broken. This prevents him from going out fishing to make money
and fix it.
Later that same day, Ion meets a friend, GRIGORE, who tells him that a well-off
acquaintance of his briefly got back from Germany and is looking to buy some land.
Reluctantly, Ion agrees to meet “THE GERMAN”. After a tough negotiation he sells him
a piece of his land. Furthermore, for some extra-cash Ion agrees to sow that land with
seeds provided by The German – textile plants, said to grow even on dry land.
Fortunes turn around and rain falls over the next couple of weeks.
One day, Ion receives a visit from the village COP. Following a rather ambiguous
conversation, Ion is put under arrest, with no specific reason whatsoever.
Minutes later, Ion is escorted to the fields where the textile crops are. Once he gets
there, Ion learns he was summoned and arrested for growing “illegal plants” and not
textiles.
The entire operation is supervised by a POLICE INSPECTOR who zealously orders the
crops to be burnt to the ground. Soon afterwards, chunky clouds of smoke spread
around – causing everyone to get – apparently - high.
People’s behaviour goes slightly off track – up to the point where the Cop makes live
demonstrations on how to arrest a suspect: using his gun and live ammo. Just then, a
CROW – high as a kite on cannabis smoke - falls from the sky hitting the Cop whose
gun accidentally discharges.
Ion and his neighbor, Grigore, in the middle of the field
Ion in the porch of his house
Ion and the policeman
BOGDAN MIRICA – Writer & Director
After graduating from Journalism, Bogdan worked as an editor,
copywriter and novelist, until 2005 when he became the
youngest Creative Director in the European advertising industry,
at the age of 27.
Nonetheless, his interests in cinema led him to study
Screenwriting and Producing at the University of Westminster,
London and then to a career in the industry. He began as a
script reader for Slingshot Studios in London and then he started
his collaboration with MediaPro Pictures. After writing several
scripts (Ho Ho Ho, Rural Story and 180) he got to direct his own
project, Bora Bora, in 2010.
Director’s note:
Bora Bora is my attempt at catching a glimpse of that closed world that is rural
Romania. I know that world – I lived there as a child. Some days were really poetic with
my grandma and I going to the fields – where I’d spend the whole day laying down in
the grass or chasing butterflies. Some other times were scary – like that evening when I
saw a neighbor who had been in a fight and got injured with an axe – he was soaked in
blood, but didn’t seem neither very angry nor worried. There’s a different perception
over life and death there, but also that world has certain poetry to it. That’s my Bora
Bora.
Bogdan Mirica - interview
1.You started writing Bora Bora long before directing it. How did the script develop,
from idea to film?
I wrote the screenplay 8-9 years ago and then it just lingered in my drawer for a while.
A long while. Last year, before starting the actual preproduction of the movie, I began
to re-write intensively and re-write and re-write. I kept the main story, but changed a
lot in terms of characters, the feel of the movie, the overall tone. I also made small but
essential changes regarding the narrative, so that I’d have a more compelling story.
Last but not least – for the first time I tried to see the movie from a director’s point of
view, rather than a screenwriter’s.
2. How was the experience of directing your first film?
That week when we shot the movie was absolutely brilliant. I thought I’d be scared or
in doubt at times – but it never happened. I had the tremendous luck of having a great
DOP and a great production team – so things went on pretty smoothly. As for the
actual shooting of the movie – somehow I just felt when something was wrong or right.
I guess all those years of waiting and thinking about it, finally paid off.
When it came to editing – again I got lucky to have one of the best Romanian editors –
so there were no major hiccups there.
Finally, the CGI, the sound design and the music took several months to complete, but I
guess postproduction is never easy – especially if you’re not willing to compromise.
3. Some of the most appreciated Romanian actors were cast in Bora Bora. How did you
manage to sign them and how did you appreciate their performance?
I hope I won’t come across as self-important, but I think, I hope, it was the screenplay
that convinced them. I’ve seen the actors on the set and they really seemed to enjoy
the material – they were playing, actually playing, not working.
As for the rest, I tried to follow Woody Allen’s advice: cast great actors and then don’t
stand in their way. Which I did.
4. You are a Romanian director schooled in the UK. What is Romanian and what is
international about Bora Bora?
If I were to be very precise, probably the things that deviate from “Romanian”-ism are:
the name Bora Bora, the bluesy music (a la Ry Cooder) and the aesthetics of the film –
similar to classical American Westerns. Consequently, the rest should be Romanian.
But I think more often than not the two – the Romanian spine and the international one
– blend into one: the humor, the characters psychology, the overall absurdity – are
universal.
If I was a bit cynical, I’d say the reality is Romanian, but what the characters dream
about is international. Hence the main character’s name is Ion Ion “just like Bora Bora”
as another character puts it.
5. Ion is a Romanian peasant put in an absurd situation. Is this movie about his destiny
or about a certain situation?
The movie is about the absurdity of life – amongst others. Just like an Escher work –
you never know where it begins, where it ends – maybe the end is the beginning or
vice versa. To know or depict someone’s destiny is too much of a task (especially in a
short film) – here we just catch a glimpse of it. I didn’t want the viewer to fully
understand Ion’s inner mechanics, but rather to be a witness of it.
6. After being a first time director, have you changed the perspective on writing the
scripts or on the whole “making the movie” business? What job do you prefer now:
scriptwriter or director?
Definitely both. I see them as two consequent stages of the same job: filmmaking. I
still like very much writing screenplays – even if I don’t get to direct them – but if I’m
lucky enough to direct again – I want to direct my own material. Not out of egotism –
but because this is the only way the circle is complete. I believe all directors (even
those who are not credited as “auteurs”) get down to the nitty gritty of the screenplay –
it’s part of the process – you have to assimilate the material first and foremost.
7. How do you feel about the selection of your first film in the competition of a big
Festival as Locarno?
First and foremost, I’m honored.
Also I feel like I didn’t talk complete gibberish for the last two pages and fourteen
months – which is a nice startup for a first time director.
CAST LIST Bora Bora
ALEX POTOCEAN as
ION
MIRELA ZETA as
MARIA
TEO CORBAN as
POLICE INSPECTOR
ION SAPDARU as
POLICEMAN #1
IULIAN POSTELNICU as
POLICEMAN #2
ADRIAN VANCICA as
GENDARME #1
ALEXANDRU FIFEA as
GENDARME #2
ION GROSU as
GRIGORE
VLAD OANCEA as
CAMERA OPERATOR
IOANA FLORA as
REPORTER
MARIAN NEGRESCU as
CITY MAN
Alexandru Potocean
Selective filmography:
o The Way Back (2010), d. Peter Weir
o Portrait of the Fighter as a Young Man (2010), d.
Constantin Popescu
o The Army of Crime (2009), d. Robert Guédiguian
o Tales from the Golden Age (2009), d. Cristian
Mungiu
o 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (2007), d. Cristian
Mungiu
o The Paper Will Be Blue (2006), d. Radu Muntean
o The Death of Mister Lazarescu (2005), d. Cristi
Puiu
Mirela Zeta
Selective filmography:
o The Rest is Silence (2007), d. Nae
Caramfil
o “Socialites”, Romanian TV comedy series
“Acting in Bora Bora was a nice experience for me. I found a crew of professionals, a
relaxing atmosphere that made everything go smooth and a scene partner with whom I
had a lot of fun in the breaks. I was glad because the director, despite the fact he was
shooting his first film, was very determined and had a precise idea about how my act
was supposed to be. I felt the emotion of hearing again “Camera rolling and.. action!”
Ion Sapdaru
Selective filmography:
o Bibliothèque Pascal (2010), d. Szabolcs
Hajdu
o Ho Ho Ho (2009), d. Jesus del Cerro
o The Concert (2009), d. Radu Mihaileanu
o Weekend with my Mother (2009), d.
Stere Gulea
o California Dreamin’ (2007), d. Cristian
Nemescu
o 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (2007),
d. Cristian Mungiu
“While working at Bora Bora I had the chance to meet a director who’s steps are as
heavy as his glorious predecessors. I looked at him carefully, taking my time to
contemplate the new generation of new directors and I set my soul to rest. Bogdan
Mirica is as tenacious, as tortured by the cinema, as dreamer and slightly crazy as his,
now famous, predecessors: Porumboiu, Mungiu, Nemescu.”
Teo Corban
Selective filmography:
o Portrait of the Fighter as a Young
Man (2010), d. Constantin Popescu
o Francesca (2009), d. Bobby
Paunescu
o Tales from the Golden Age (2009),
d. Cristian Mungiu
o California Dreamin’ (2007), d.
Cristian Nemescu
o 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days
(2007), d. Cristian Mungiu
“When I read the script I was glad it was going to be a comedy. I heard that at TIFF
the viewers laughed a lot and I was also glad that, along with the entire team, we
managed to be hilarious. I didn’t get to see the movie so far, but I now that under the
obvious comic situation, the story has another layer of reality, contemporary with
typologies that sadly remind of communist times”
CREW LIST Bora Bora
PRODUCER
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
LINE PRODUCER
PRODUCTION COORDINATOR
LOCATION MANAGER/TRANSPORT COORDINATOR
KEY SET P.A.
FINANCIAL ANALYST
CASHIER
DIRECTOR
1st AD
2nd AD
HEAD WRITER
SCRIPT SUPERVISOR
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY/ CAMERAMAN
STEADYCAM OPERATOR
FOCUS PULLER
CAMERA ASSISTANT/ LOADER
VIDEO ASSIST
GAFFER
ELECTRICIAN
ELECTRICIAN
KEY GRIP
GRIP
SOUND ENGINEER
BOOM OPERATOR
PRODUCTION DESIGNER
PROPS MASTER/ SET DECORATOR
COSTUME DESIGNER
COSTUME ASSISTANT
MAKE -UP & HAIR
CRAFT
Andrei Boncea
Iuliana Tarnovetchi
Emilia Vlad
Mirabela Nedelcu
Andrei Sendrea
Alex Adascalitei
Luminita Constantinescu
Liliana Nita
Bogdan Mirica
Ovidiu Paunescu
Razvan Badea
Bogdan Mirica
Andrei Stefanescu
Andrei Butica
Gabi Damian
Costel Nica
Radu Cioplea
Marian Paun
Octavian Andreescu
Doru Andreescu
Adi Lupsa
Radu Marinescu
Ion Florin
Marius Stanescu
Liviu Lupsa
Monica Sorescu
Marius Bardasan
Adina Bucur
Cristina Ghergheli
Ada Radu
Aurelia Caldararu
The Special Effects team put the crop on fire
From left to the right: Bogdan (the director), Andrei (the DOP) and Marian (the video assist) reviewing a scene
Things you could learn when you direct your first movie
Bora Bora is the first film of Bogdan Mirica, a long waited short-movie produced with
MediaPro Pictures, finished some years after its original conception, but fully repaying
the effort put into it.
Mirica first drafted the script 8 years ago, inspired by a friend’s story of a peasant from
the north of Romania who unknowingly planted cannabis only to have the police set it
on fire. The case was somehow surprising and funny, but “I didn’t know if it was a true
story or an urban legend – rural in this case. During all these years many friends told
me that they had also heard about it, but not one knew any more details”, as the
author says. Working as a scriptwriter at that time, Bogdan started putting his ideas
into a clearer shape:”Anyway the story changed throughout its many versions because
my vision upon it changed – initially it was focusing more on the situation itself and on
the brute comedy, but it evolved into a kind of drama with comical situations, a bit
more ironic and absurd”.
Bora Bora is woven around the absurdity of life. Ion is a fisherman living in one of the
most drought-affected areas in the country. Striving to overcome poverty, Ion sells a
piece of his land to a foreigner and agrees for some extra cash to sow that land with
"textile" seeds said to grow even on dry land, seeds provided by the buyer. A few
weeks later, Ion receives a visit from the village policeman who takes him to the fields.
Once he gets there, Ion learns he is under arrest and has to watch the cops burn the
crops to the ground.
Bogdan’s first personal reward came when the National Centre of Romanian
Cinematography chose to support the production of the movie in the year when he also
applied as director together with MediaPro Pictures. “I’ve been writing movie scripts on
a daily basis for 4 years now, so for sure I am better at it. But once I got to direct Bora
Bora I realized that writing is much more theoretical than actually directing a movie!”
The first day of shooting brought also the first opportunity for the crew to improvise.
The scene was simple: Ion meets his friend, Grigore, while walking his goat in the
middle of the torrid fields. The scene is slowly and carefully constructed, the both speak
without hurry, the air is heavy… only the goat is full of energy and wants to do anything
else than acting bored – as it is supposed to in the script. Jumping around was its
favourite occupation, risking to mess up the entire shooting schedule. An emergency
brainstorming brought along the solution: the props master produced some thread with
which he tied the goat’s collar to pull it in front of the camera as envisioned by the
director. The scene was all but wrapped by the time the goat finally began complying.
And this was not the only time when we had to deal with animals! But if the first time
Bogdan learned from the men about spontaneous solutions, the next time he used the
animals’ natural reactions in his favour. In the scene when the cop comes to arrest Ion,
he finds the accused holding a dizzy hen in his arms. Ion looks at it and sais “look what
the heat did to it…”. The fact was that some hens from the yard started to be affected
by the heat and, before putting them in the shade with water and food, Bogdan came
with this great idea if using one of them in this scene. He was inspired as, while editing,
he saw that this was the best take of that scene and used it.
All the movie’s characters complain about the heat all the time, but the actors
themselves weren’t any happier about it either. Bogdan assembled a great cast - with
some of the best Romanian actors, like Alexandru Potocean (Ion), Mirela Zeta (Maria),
Ion Sapdaru (the policeman) or Teo Corban (the inspector). Excepting Mirela, whose
character only left the house to pour water on its head, everybody else had to suffer
the amazing heat. Ion had a much-welcomed hat, but Alexandru almost got sun burns
before finishing shooting his first scene in open field, despite the sun lotions and
umbrellas waiting for him in the shadow. But the director admits he was truly blessed
heaving such cast, who proved to be made of “not only exceptional actors, but also
extraordinary and patient people with whom I shared troubles and laughs”.
The heat was not problematic only for living creatures, but also once it came to
endangering the shooting. The day when we filmed the crop burning was the final
challenge for the whole team. The Special Effects guys, along with the firemen specially
called for this delicate situation, were very cautious when lighting the fire in the middle
of a bigger field of crops. Everything seemed to be going well, the doubles were
fabulous, and the director of photography installed a scaffold to catch a better
perspective, when the wind suddenly changed direction and inflamed some more crop
than it was supposed to. A moment of panic occurred and the specialists needed some
minutes to regain control over the fire. The shooting had to be stopped and everybody’s
efforts were focused on doing anything to help putting down the fire; some even
appeared with useless buckets of water! Nevertheless, a controlled fire could only be
put down by the ones who put it up in the first place. In the end all of this lasted only
for some minutes and it was more of a scare than a real danger.
When asked about those days, the days when he filmed his first movie, Bogdan recalls
intense emotions: “That week when we shot the movie was absolutely brilliant. I
thought I’d be scared or in doubt at times – but it never happened. [..] As for the actual
shooting of the movie – somehow I just felt when something was wrong or right. I
guess all those years of waiting and thinking about it, finally paid off.”
In June 2011, at Transilvania International Film Festival, Bora Bora was awarded with
the prize for the Romanian Short Movies. First participation to an international film
festival brought its makers also the first award. The thrilled director then wished “to
keep as much as possible the energy from the movie’s projection, when everybody was
laughing and applauding. That is what I call a good fuel for the nights when you just sit
and stare to the blank page in front of you.”
Andrei Boncea – producer
“I met Bogdan couple years ago as a very
talented screenwriter. I was impressed
with his abilities to tell great stories with
wit and heart and brighten them up with
memorable characters. Flawless writing
and remarkable instinct for the magic of
life and humanity that cinema is able to
capture. I am a great fan of Bogdan’s
heroes. They face small time challenges
with humor and honesty just to reveal
what they really missed in their life is farreaching and almost heartbreaking. It was
easy for me to like Bora Bora from the first
read, and I was very happy to find out
about Bogdan intent to direct this short
film. I was confident that the little gem of
script will be a small time challenge to
reveal a very talented director.
The outcome exceeded my expectations. I
was impressed with his dedication to craft
the preparation and production of the film
in the tiniest detail and the result was a
total joy for the team and the cast. And I
am very satisfied to bring to the audiences
and film lovers with Bora Bora the
daybreak of a future great film director”
THE PRODUCTION COMPANY:
MEDIAPRO PICTURES
MediaPro Pictures is the largest film production company in Romania, part of MediaPro
Entertainment along with other production units from Czech Republic, Croatia, Slovakia,
Slovenia and Bulgaria. Beginning with 2009 MediaPro Entertainment is part of CME
(Central European Media Enterprises), a vertically integrated media and entertainment
group, who operates broadcasting, internet and TV content companies, leaders on their
market segments, throughout the 6 countries, for an overall audience of over 50
million.
Thanks to this support, MediaPro Pictures benefits of a whole system of integrated
services, from pre-production, production and post-production with the best equipment
available, to promotion and distribution in all territories.
The company’s experience in film production was rewarded in 2007 with “Un certain
regard” prize in Cannes Film Festival for “California dreamin’ (endless)”. In the same
year MediaPro Pictures became the first production company in Romania that produced
a feature film for the American film market – “Fire & Ice”, directed by Pitof, made for
SCI FI Channel.
MediaPro Pictures develops creation/content services for feature films, develops coproductions and step by step strengthens its position in the international cinema
community. The generation of movie makers that populates these days the shooting
sites is striving to add great value to this fabulous world where dreams are trumped up
for millions of people watching.
MEDIAPRO PICTURES SELECTIVE FILMOGRAPHY
1. Bora Bora (short movie), director Bogdan Mirica (2011). Cast: Alexandru Potocean, Mirela Zeta, Ion
Sapdaru, Teo Corban.
2. Nasa/ The Godmother, director Jesus del Cerro (2011). Cast: Whitney Anderson, Dragos Bucur,
Stefan Iancu, Alex Velea, Razvan Vasilescu, Catalina Grama
3. Poker, director Sergiu Nicolaescu (2010). Cast: Horatiu Malaele, Vladimir Gaitan, Valentin Teodosiu,
Catalina Grama, Mircea Diaconu, Jean Constantin, Vasile Muraru
4. Ho Ho Ho, director Jesus del Cerro (2009). Cast: Stefan Banica Jr., Bogdan Iancu, Pavel Bartos, Alina
Chivulescu, Valentin Teodosiu
5. Carol I, director: Sergiu Nicolaescu (2008). Cast: Sergiu Nicolaescu, Marina Procopie, Razvan
Vasilescu, Cristian Motiu, Geo Dobre
6. Week-end cu mama/ Weekend with my mother, director: Stere Gulea (2007). Cast: Adela
Popescu, Medeea Marinescu, Tudor Aaron Istodor, Ion Sapdaru, Florin Zamfirescu, Andi Vasluianu,
Razvan Vasilescu
7. Fire & Ice, director: Pitof (2007). Cast: Tom Wisdom, Amy Acker, Arnold Vosloo, Oana Pellea, Razvan
Vasilescu, Cabral, Ovidiu Niculescu, Loredana
8. Supravieţuitorul/ The Survivor, director: Sergiu Nicolaescu (2007). Cast: Sergiu Nicolaescu,
Vladimir Gaitan, Jean Constantin, Lucian Viziru, Ileana Lazariuc, Loredana.
9. California dreamin’ (nesfârşit)/ California dreamin’ (endless), director: Cristian Nemescu
(2006). Cast: Armand Assante, Razvan Vasilescu, Jamie Elman, Maria Dinulescu, Ion Sapdaru, Andi
Vasluianu
10. Femeia visurilor/ Woman of my dreams, director: Dan Pita (2004). Cast: Dan Condurache,
Razvan Vasilescu, Adrian Pintea, Olga Tudorache, Irina Movila, Marius Bodochi
11. Margo, director: Ioan Carmazan (2004). Cast: Cristina Cioran, Paula Chirila, Marius Florea Vizante,
Vladimir Gaitan, Alexandrina Halic
12. Second Hand, director: Dan Pita (2002). Cast: Mihai Calin, Alexandra Dinu
13. Dulcea saună a morţii/ Alone versus myself, director: Dan Pita (2002). Cast: Gheorghe Dinica,
Florian Ghimpu, Dana Rogoz, Irina Movila, Florin Zamfirescu
14. Furia/ Rage, director: Radu Muntean (2001). Cast: Dragos Bucur, Dorina Chiriac, Andi Vasluianu,
Bogdan Uritescu
15. Filantropica/ Filantropy, director: Nae Caranfil (2001). Cast: Mircea Diaconu, Gheorghe Dinica,
Mara Nicolescu, Viorica Voda.