Encore Désolé

Hello everybody! This is Mert Er. I'm launching this campaign to raise funding for my short film, Encore Désolé. Before we go into details, let me quickly introduce myself. I'm passionate about working with words and images, combining them to create challenging stories. I consider myself a storyteller who plays with reality to convey meaning. Questioning aspects of human existence and representing minorities are crucial themes in my work. In 2021, I wrote and directed my first short film, 'I Apologize for What Happened Yesterday.' Additionally, one of my photographs titled 'Coppersmith' was awarded an Honorable Mention at the International Photography Awards. I have been involved in various film projects, some of which have been awarded and screened at international festivals, and I have followed how they were received by the audience. It's time for me to work on my second short film: Encore Désolé.

Logline

When Adeline, who suffers from Alzheimer’s, recalls a painful moment about her son, Guillaume, both mother and son are forced to confront the same bitter experience years later.

The Story

Guillaume wakes up to the sound of violent shattering glass. He rushes to the bathroom where he finds his mother, Adeline, standing amidst shattered glass, her fearful eyes fixed on the broken mirror frame. Adeline, no longer recognizing the woman in the mirror, has progressed to the next stage of Alzheimer's disease.

She mistakes her son Guillaume for her husband Jérôme, whom she lost when Guillaume was 3 years old. That day, she mistakes herself for the time when she used to work as a nurse and tries to get ready to go to work. Guillaume, trying to bring his mother back to the present, shows her old photographs. Adeline manages to gradually piece together some of her fragmented memories.

However, she goes into a crisis when she sees a photo taken in her son's bedroom when he was only 18. The photo triggers memories of the moment she kicked her son out of the house. Reverting to her dominant and conservative mother persona, she once again expels her son from the house, just as she had done years before.

Nevertheless, Guillaume seizes the opportunity presented by his mother's crisis to pursue something he has yearned for, for years.

The Look

The visual world of the film, which takes place in a single location, will reflect the conflicting relationships and constraints between the mother and son, both with each other and with themselves. Vintage lenses will be used for the film's shooting. Dimly lit, low-key lighting will be preferred. The light will be condensed and directed towards the characters. High contrast will be created with light on the set. Shadows and contrasts will intensify the underlying tensions between the characters.

Budget Breakdown

Production: 1100€

Equipments: 1100€

Location: 1000€

Art department: 400€

Sound department: 100€

Music: 500€

Contingency: 420€

Gofundme transaction fees: 150€

Grand total: 4770€

No matter how much you contribute, the name of everyone who donates will be listed in the credits section.