New Zealand-born filmmaker
Daniel Borgman, whose latest film “Resin” world
premieres at Toronto in the Contemporary World Cinema section, is developing a
pair of high-concept projects: the crime thriller “The Shadows” and the supernatural
drama “The Light.”
“The
Shadows” follows Amanda, a farmer whose reclusive life in the countryside gets
turned upside down when local police discover 13 migrant corpses in the
neighboring property. While she initially tries to stay away from the investigation,
she bonds with Lisa, a burnt-out police inspector who struggles to solve the
case while the community seems unwilling to talk.
“The
Light,” meanwhile, tells the story of Lea, who is on her way to break the world
record in free diving when she starts experiencing strange visions. She then
finds out her mother fell in a coma after attempting to commit suicide. While
the health of her mother keep deteriorating, she continues to be haunted during
her dives by an unknown force.
Borgman
is developing both projects with Tine Mikkelsen at Adomeit Film, the banner
behind “Resin,” a Danish thriller based on Ane Rie´s book by the same name.
Represented in international markets by TrustNordisk, “Resin” stars Peter Plaugborg,
Sofie Grabol and Amanda Collin.
The
thriller introduces Vivelill Sogaard Holm, who stars as Liv, a precocious
13-year-old who lives deep in the forest with her simple-minded father and
bedridden mother. Liv doesn´t know that her parents have made the outside world
believe that she is dead in an attempt to escape society´s norms and demands.
Their reclusive existence is threatened when Liv´s curiosity propels her to
venture into the world.
Borgman,
whose two previous feature films “The Weight of Elephants” and “Loving Pia”
world-premiered in Berlin, said “Resin” was an unusual project for him to take on
for several reasons.
“I
never made a genre film before and I was concerned about the premise. At first
the premise seemed kind of clichéd to me as if it was a story that had been
told a thousand times, but I was drawn to it because I liked the fact that it´s
a cross-genre drama with thriller elements, and it explores our ambivalent
relationship with nature,” said Borgman.
“Being
close to nature, away from society, can be a rewarding experience; that said,
ugly, grotesque and disgusting things can happen when you live in the nature.
The story also dealt with the destructive aspect of love when it becomes
suffocating,” said the director, whose credits also include “Berik,” which won
a prize at Cannes´ Critics Week in 2010.
One
of the highlights of Borgman´s experience on the film was to work with Søgaard
Holm, whom he described as “very talented and special.” “I´ve always enjoyed
working with non-actors or young people because it´s more rewarding. They trust
you so much, there is less bullshit going on and if you get behind the camera
right, stuff will happen before the camera,” said the director, who studied
film in Denmark and has been living there for over 10 years.
“Resin” is the first film Borgman brings to Toronto, and he said it made sense
for him to get closer to the North American film community because he´d like to
make a film in English at some point.
The
film is produced by Katja Adomeit for Adomeit Film and Peter Aalbaek Jensen for
Zentropa Productions 2, with Louise Vesth as executive producer. “Resin” was
backed by the Danish Film Institute, FilmFyn and TV 2. Nordic
distribution to be handled by Nordisk Film Distribution.