“For me, it’s a pure joy,” says Czech filmmaker Filip Raimonda (Czech Dream, Steam on the River) shooting his latest project, Love Exposed, which he presented as part of the prestigious IDFA Forum this week. This is the first time Remunda has returned to IDFA in 14 years. The Czech Dream, his feature film, was shown at the festival in 2008 as part of the Top 10 Films.
“We are watching other projects and it is important to get feedback from different sources because it will help us edit the film,” Raymonda says of the importance of bringing the project to Amsterdam.
The forum was pioneering. They broke boundaries between filmmakers, producers, and costing agents. It wasn’t open before they started. It was like Kafka’s story where you don’t know who rules your life. The forum has a very democratic principle because you can meet people, hear their feedback and learn about different possibilities, so the game is more open. You might be surprised who you can collaborate with.”
“Love Exposed” (Courtesy of Hypermarket Film)
Produced by Tereza Horská, of Remunda’s own production company, Hypermarket Film, “Love Exposed” follows the Czech director’s longtime girlfriend, Blanka, as she confronts her artist father about their turbulent relationship. “When we went through the Corona virus and we were all locked in our homes, we realized that relationships are the most important thing in our lives,” Raymonda says of the motivation behind the film. “Sometimes we forget about it because we automatically think that our mothers love us, that we love our children, and that’s it. There’s a lot of drama within families and sometimes hate wins out, and sometimes you don’t talk to your parents for 20 years and I just don’t like it.”
“Good relationships, like the ones Philip and I have in our lives, are the most important thing,” Horska said when asked why she was drawn to the project. “I have two children, a family, and I understand the feelings. The film is also very rich in form and style, it depicts beautiful surroundings.”
The brief teaser that ran on the IDFA forum offered a taste of the visual style Horská is referring to. The first few seconds of the clip show a naked woman walking outside, still dripping water from the shower. She is fully nude when she sits on an ornate chair to pose for her husband, Blanca’s father. The absurdist tone of the clip perfectly reflects Remunda’s penchant for comedy.
“I’m working on a tragic movie [laughs]. I feel that humor is the only way to deal with life’s most dramatic moments. As usual in my films, I mix humor with tragedy. This does not mean that when there is laughter in the movie, I am laughing at what is happening. For me, laughter gives you a moment to think. When you laugh, you see something that you understand is not right. I hope that in this moment of laughter, we can see things differently.”
Despite the larger-than-life father dominating the screen, the film will be told by Blanca, the director assures. “It will be told from her female point of view. This is a story about a father from the last century and old photographs of him, but I want to defend him because he is a great artist. He is a little selfish but a great artist whose work has been published in Germany. It is important to note that he is a very important photographer.”
Teresa Hruska, Philip Raymonda (Courtesy of Zdenek Blaha)
Are there any challenges in capturing the intimacy of the family? “Sometimes in the documentary world you hear about people having a hard time because their subjects refuse to be photographed, they hate the idea of filming, even when they loved it at first,” Raymonda explains. But with this family, there is a kind of stability because they love being photographed. For them, it’s a moment when they can think together, it’s a safe space for them to discuss things they haven’t discussed before. We benefit from the family dynamic and they really enjoy the shoot.”
If the movie changes after going through the forum, Remunda doesn’t know, but he’s open to going where the story leads him. “In my experience, documentaries can’t be written entirely. We’re so attached to reality and what’s going on with this family, so I’d be really happy if the movie surprised me. It probably leads to an unknown ending, but I’m pretty sure of what I’m doing, and how well I know the family. They are They’re very open and they trust me. We’ve known each other for 20 years, so this will be a candid, honest and heartwarming portrayal of this family.”
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