U up?

Een Korte film van Viktoria Szemeredy

Crowdfunding teaser:

funded project

140

100%

€8.010

opgehaald van €8.010

dagen te gaan

supporters

Project Information

Over het project

LOCKLINETwo young men reach the utmost intimacy on a physical level, but will they be able to connect emotionally?

WHY SUPPORT U UP?

"An unexpected message from that guy you met some days ago. He wants to meet again. What could this mean? Does he like you? Or is it just another fling? You get your hopes up.

You’ve been in this situation; you know this story and this story knows you. A difference in expectations could make this a missed opportunity unless you stop and take a moment.

“U UP?” is a story about that moment that could make something go from physical to emotional."

Supporting this project is important to raise awareness and sensitivity to a topic that few people talk about: the emotional disconnection between two intimate partners.

As a Young Person, we are sure you have suffered from the emotional void that intimate relationships without sentimental meaning have left in you.

As a Parent or Family member, it is important to educate future generations to consider the quality and depth of their relationships above the current constant seek of meaningless quantity, which catalyzed by social networks and reinforced by the modern environment.

We invite you to support this project in order to give a voice to those who have passed through this and to spread a strong message of encouragement to avoid intimacy without emotional impact.

LOGLINE

Two young men meet for another casual sexual intercourse. The physical connection is undeniable, but a moment changes everything and a decision needs to be made for this to become a real encounter and put an end to a long history of emotional isolation.

SYNOPSIS

Ben is alone at home when his online dating buddy sends him a short but ever-telling message. The two words contain everything Nico thinks about courtship and foreplay. His detached, purposeful behaviour keeps Ben from showing his real emotions.

Ben tries to balance between staying honest and avoiding an awkward situation, but he seems to fail in both. His fear of rejection blurs his judgment and makes the only real momentum vanish before their farewell.

WRITER'S STATEMENT

With U up? I wanted to have a look at the paradoxes that online dating can provoke: keeping people separated while they sell connection, engineering algorithm-driven encounters that feel like a well-rehearsed dance when the beauty of meeting people lies in serendipity.

Applying that tension to the particular parameters of the homosexual community, and the expediency that the big city life can bring about, those two characters both still aim to connect, but in their very flawed ways end up missing the opportunity, and feeling as lonely as they were before. Or do they?

DIRECTOR'S STATEMENT

My visual concept magnifies this fractured relationship. The camera stays with the characters in an intimate, close distance, but their faces are never seen together in one frame. The aspect of the storyteller mirrors the isolation between Ben and Nico from a neutral position, while Ben's point of view reveals his subjective perception of intrusion.

The sound design is just as accentuated as the visual world. The soft and subtle noises are intermittent by the sharp ring of a phone or the rattle of a vial of drugs, all reflecting Ben’s subjective perception.

CHARACTERS

Our lead character, Ben, is fresh in the game. He is a younger member of generation Y, where the old-fashioned contact between people is still in place. He tries to act naturally in this intense and vulnerable situation, but his comfort is only a facade. He is deeply disturbed by Nico’s brisk, matter-of-fact way of their intercourse.

FINANCIAL INFORMATION

With this campaign, we seek funding for production costs that we cannot secure from national grants.

In Hungary, 30% tax incentive is available for certain projects and we will apply for that with the goal to complete the financing.

Quote die de filmmaker inspireerde

"This minimalist and poignant script targets an epidemic social problem of the younger generations with apparent precision, introducing a relationship that is exciting and empty at the same time."

Elliot Grove, founder of the British Independent Film Awards and Raindance Film Festival

Cast en crew

CAST & CREW

BEN - Barnabás Rohonyi

Although Barnabás is still one of the most promising students of the University of Theatre and Film Arts Budapest, he already works in prestigious plays in different theatres. His dancing talent will be a huge support for him in this short film where the movement is an accentuated element throughout the story.

NICO - Miklós H Vecsei

Miklós is not only a brilliant actor on stage and film but the co-founder of Stalker group, a creative community of young actors, dramaturgs, and directors. He is passionate about bringing culture in its all forms close to the audience with an accent on the youngsters.

WRITER - Baptiste Charles

Baptiste is a London-based emerging French author working for Raindance Film School since 2015, with several publications, stage, and screen pieces. His unique perception and understanding of the specific milieu of U up? is elaborate, sensitive, and in-depth.

DIRECTOR - Viktória Szemerédy

Viktória is a Budapest-based award-winning screenplay writer and director. As a former psychotherapist, she uses her diagnostic capability that penetrates the surface and an understanding of deep human emotions. Her attitude gives a unique quality to all subjects she touches. Her previous shorts, Pintu, Butterfly Daughter, and Metaphorms were screened at international film festivals and brought many awards home.

A short showreel from her previous works: https://youtu.be/zkB6nfHr_Ns

DOP - Péter Szatmári

Péter is an experienced, skillful cinematographer whose ability to create a unified and robust vision has been awarded several times internationally. Based on the significant number of feature films - among them, the international hits Liza, the Fox-Fairy, Kincsem or The Whisky Bandit - he completed, Péter's expertise in creating a powerful visual world is granted.

He worked with Viktória in her two previous short films, the festival hit Butterfly Daughter and the equally successful Metaphorms.

PRODUCER - Anna Botka

Anna started her career in the UK where she studied filmmaking and got her first job in post-production at Red Bee Media (formerly BBC) in 2011. She has worked together with HBO Europe where besides coordinating the production department, she has gotten involved with the writers’ room. She has been production coordinating international hit shows ever since.

PRODUCER - Alejandro Duque

Alejandro is a writer and producer. He has worked as Producer's Assistant on the films Archive, SAS: Red Notice, a handful of commercials, and the short films: Methaphorms and The Euphoria of Being. He is currently developing the production of the series Breaking Chains: The Theory, based on the novel of his authorship.

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER - Jonathan Halperyn

Jonathan is the founder of Hero Squared in Budapest, Hungary. Hero Squared offers production servicing solutions across the CEE region and beyond, as well as the development and production of its own original film and TV content.

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER - Daniel Kesmery

Daniel has worked in Budapest in a multitude of roles in the film industry over the last 15 years, including Department coordinator, editor, line producer, executive producer and producer. In 2016 he set up the production service arm of Korda Studios, producing international television and commercials in Budapest. He is currently a partner at Herosquared.

CREATIVE PRODUCERS- Gül Togay & Rita Balogh

Gül is an experienced and acknowledged producer of various genres (including award-winning fiction and documentary features, short films, and TV pieces), with important extensive experiences on the international market.

Rita is experienced in the documentary field both as a producer and creator. As the co-founder of the Budapest International Documentary Festival, she developed a skill for creating and developing new initiatives.

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