somewhere between here and now

New festival selection

2009-10-01T13:34:00.006+02:00

Festival International du Film Francophone de Namur

After a very long list of refusals (Venice, Toronto, Tokyo, New York, San Sebastian and many many more), we're very happy to announce a new festival selection: the international french-speaking film festival of Namur. Two screenings, one on the 4th of October (first screening in HDCam) and another one on the 5th of October. We're in the "Regards du Présent" selection. We'd be very happy to meet you there! More infos after the link.

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Poster

2009-10-01T13:28:00.005+02:00

Hello everyone!

Our poster is officially ready, here it is. We hope you'll enjoy it. If you'd like one, feel free to send us a mail.

Rogue Cinema

2009-10-01T13:23:00.002+02:00

SOMEWHERE BETWEEN HERE AND NOW: Review

(...) Now, if you're looking for a slam-bang action movie, or a moving love story, then you shouldn't look here. Somewhere Between Here and Now is really a meditation on loneliness and looking for something to fill the empty space in yourself...and in the end, it seems that the only person who can fill that space is you. I'm giving Somewhere Between Here and Now three out of four cigars, it's a little slow, but it's a warm, nice movie.

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Quiet Earth

2009-08-15T00:03:00.002+02:00

Review of Olivier Boonjing's SOMEWHERE BETWEEN HERE AND NOW

It’s not often one ponders the space between here and now, but in this fascinating film it seems to be: the Here is Brussels, home to the action, and the Now is how the Here is perceived by a group of young and emotionally distraught travelers. Put another way, Somewhere Between Here And Now (SBHN) is a desperately empty place, full of solitary histories, no futures and bulging backpacks. Lonely Planet, indeed.

(...) Granted, not a scintillating outline of heavy action, but this is one of those auteur efforts that represents the vision of one clever guy – Olivier Boonjing – who wrote, directed, produced, shot and edited the movie. (...)

(...) No, Boonjing’s best claim to fame in this here and now is the brilliant cinematography. From the opening montage of verité Asian scenes to the formal architectural symmetries of Brussels, Boonjing offers up a dazzling array of visual delights – both by day and night – as he effortlessly tracks the obsessive movements of his young and restless characters in their vain searches for themselves. (...)

(...) SBHN is well cast, with the camera loving the sensual face of Lucie Debay, and Arieh Worthalter plays a very convincing loser, torn between the anonymity of the road and his attraction to this unstable blonde with the big packsack. (...)

(...) Somewhere Between Here And Now. Cool name, and a cool flick. Here has been around for a long time. Now’s the moment. Boonjing shows us that “somewhere between” is a mindscape that maps out your motivations. If you get the chance, take this journey.

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Cinergie

2009-08-14T23:58:00.002+02:00

Objet flottant doucement identifié

(...) Modeste et simple, Somewhere between réussit peut-être à toucher et émouvoir parce qu’il assume clairement ses ambitions, son propos et ses fragilités. Peut-être aussi qu’il creuse, sans vouloir les résoudre, quelques-unes des questions qui hantent notre époque. (...)

(...) Si le film ne manque ni d’humour (des personnages croqués avec délices comme cet ex-chauffeur de taxi) ni d’inventivité (pas un seul champ contre-champ, ou presque), que ses comédiens sont beaux de tous leurs non-dits, et qu’ils éclairent la nuit du film d’une certaine innocence (Lucie Debay et Arieh Worthalter), que certains plans sont d’une grande justesse (ces trouées de lumière dans la nuit ou cette aube au matin près d’un canal), le film d’errance urbaine est désormais un genre à part entière depuis qu’un pan du cinéma américain des années 80 et quelques grands noms en ont fait leur marque de fabrique (Jarmush, Wenders…).

Là où Somewhere between here and now fait mouche, c’est qu’il évite justement, de trop se référer à ces grands noms sans pour autant ignorer leur héritage. (...)

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Fake Magazine

2009-08-14T23:50:00.003+02:00

Brussels Film Festival 2009 - Le Palmares

(...) Deux réelles surprises ont également pris place lors du festival : SOMEWHERE BETWEEN HERE AND NOW et COUNTRY WEDDING. Le premier est un film belge sans budget réellement touchant et presque enivrant. Deux personnages errent dans Bruxelles sans réelle motivation et découvre une série de personnages anodins. Une réelle rencontre partagée. (...)

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Indymedia

2009-08-14T23:43:00.004+02:00

Somewhere Between Here and Now: "Les grands espaces sont intérieurs"

(...) Le film de Olivier Boonjing pourrait être une invitation au voyage. Mais il n'est pas si certain que celui dont il nous parle soit géographique. Après tout, les grands espaces sont aussi intérieurs. Partir, comme le suggère le film, est souvent un chemin de fuite avec un dégré de conscience plus ou moins fort que ce que l'on cherche ne peut pas être ailleurs. (...)

(...) Filmé sans budget par un groupe de quatre amis passionnés "Somewhere between here and now" est un film d'une grande maturité esthétique et intellectuelle. Il est la preuve flagrante que l'argent ne peut et ne doit pas être le moteur de guerre d'une entreprise cinématographique. Espérons que travail d'Olivier Boonjing saura rassurer et inspirer les génies fauchés.

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La Libre

2009-08-14T23:31:00.006+02:00

"Somewhere Between Here and Now", c’est beau Bruxelles la nuit

Un des coups de cœur du festival, signé par une équipe enthousiaste, emmenée par Olivier Boonjing et Olan Bowland.

(...) Rarement la ville, dans cette intimité noctambule, n’a paru si vivante, multiple et internationale. L’anglais qui finit par devenir langue vernaculaire des différentes communautés qui s’y croisent et y partagent le même amour d’un lieu où, "well, you know", les bus arrêtent de circuler à 1h du matin, mais où un trajet sur la ligne du 71 permet d’entendre toutes les langues d’Europe et d’Afrique. (...)

(...) Formellement, en dépit de son budget serré et de son tournage à l’arraché, le film présente une belle facture. Boonjing se révèle un cadreur inspiré, capable de saisir aussi bien l’instant magique entre deux comédiens que la poésie d’un bunker urbain. (...)

(...) Un coup de cœur, donc. Auquel on souhaite de rencontrer prochainement un plus large public.

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Le Soir

2009-08-14T23:20:00.006+02:00

Le Brussels by night d’Olivier Boonjing

(...) Pour lui, Bruxelles est une ville de passage, où transitent bien des voyageurs. Mais, précise-t-il, «mon film parle du voyage en tant qu’état d’esprit. Il parle aussi de la notion de maison, qui est pour moi plus un sentiment qu’un endroit.»

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Variety

2009-08-14T23:15:00.006+02:00

Brussels festival to open with 'Beds'

Fourteen European films to compete

(...) Belgian no-budget drama "Somewhere Between Here and Now" by Olivier Boonjing also makes its bow in competition. (...)

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Brussels Film Festival 2009

2009-08-14T22:59:00.007+02:00

Photography by Guy Van Laere (www.guyvanlaere.com) and Camille Cooken. More pictures on Flickr

Synopsis

2009-07-24T02:02:00.000+02:00

Louise comes back to Belgium after a long trip in Asia, but is reluctant to go home. She postpones the moment to come home. In Brussels North Station Adrian notices Louise. He is about to leave. Instead of taking his train, he follows her. Unlike Louise, he postpones the moment to leave. What follows is a backpacking trip through Brussels at night. They are in a moment in between, not yet gone, not yet arrived, in a huge transit zone, called Brussels. A place that makes surprising encounters possible, an inter-cultural, inter-national area. How to experience the home land as a foreign country? A reflection on travel as a state of mind, and home as a feel.
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Technical infos

2009-07-24T02:00:00.001+02:00

BELGIUM – 2009 – 74min – COLOR – 2.35
ENGLISH/FRENCH O.V.
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Festivals & awards

2009-07-24T01:58:00.001+02:00

Brussels Film Festival 2009 – Official Competition – Telenet Prime Audience Award
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Cast & crew

2009-07-24T00:21:00.004+02:00

Lucie Debay (Louise)

Arieh Worthalter (Adrian)

Anaël Snoek (Zoe)

Elisabeth Lourtie & Geoffrey Boissy (Tourist couple)

Andres Cifuentes (Laundry guy)

Antonio Otero (Guy with the suitcase)

Mathieu Besnard (Matt)

Pierre Van Heddegem (Ex-cab driver)

Louise Chardon & Luk Van Den Dries (Tango couple)

Marion Nguyen The (Night-shop girl)

Stendec (Himself)

Written and directed by Olivier Boonjing

Produced by Olan Bowland & Olivier Boonjing

Assisted by Stanley Kowalski

Cinematography by Olivier Boonjing, Olan Bowland & Jean-François Metz

Sound recording by Quentin Aksajef & Thibaut Darscotte

Foley by Thomas Vaquié & Valentin Van Galder

Editing by Olivier Boonjing, Quentin Aksajef & Olan Bowland

Sound editing by Thibaut Darscotte

Sound mix by Jean-François Levillain

Color grading by Olivier Boonjing

Trailer editing by Adil Nahjari

Making of by Azilys Romane

Music by Michael the Blind, Ramona Cordova & Jim Kenny

Produced by Another State of Mind Films
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Director's statement

2009-07-23T23:14:00.004+02:00

I grew up in Belgium, less than a mile away from Germany and Holland. My mother is from Thailand, my father from Belgium, my grand-father from Germany. My favourite music bands always were English, my favourite literature American, my favourite clothes Danish, my favourite movies Asian, my favourite food Indian,…

The very notion of identity linked to a nationality has always seemed strange to me. I always felt being a bit of everything. I had the chance to move around and I always felt well everywhere and somehow home nowhere.

All that pushed me into making this film, a film about the notion of travel and the idea of home. Both are very closely linked to me. Travel as a state of mind more than a movement, home as a feel more than a place.

As someone once said:

“ The man who finds his homeland sweet is still a tender beginner, he to whom every soil is as his native one is already strong but he is perfect to whom the entire world is as a foreign land…”

Inspired by the writing of Pico Iyer (Global Soul) and Alain de Botton (The Art of Travel), I wanted to ask myself how it would be to perceive again my home town Brussels as a kind of foreign space.

So-called modern loneliness is a subject that moves me a lot. As a reference to the American painter Edward Hopper, I decided to work on the idea of empty public spaces at night and how it can be lonely people together, making them somehow feel less alone. I translated that into locations I knew very well, most of the film was shot 10 minutes of walk away from my house.

The movie was shot with about no budget but I continue to stress out that it was more of a choice. I wanted the freedom to experiment, I wanted the freedom to have time and more importantly, the story didn’t need more. It had to be light to work.

I wanted to create a short, simple movie in its structure, a near documentary that focuses on the little things. A movie that will hopefully ask audiences questions that are rather philosophical and leave them time to think about it.

To me, emotions need time and space. I decided the movie’s rhythm should follow that idea. Long shots but it keeps moving, sometimes rather fast. I wanted to create a space where the actors could evolve freely, the camera simply capturing the moment.

Somehow I consider this movie as a kiss goodbye to Brussels also, the end of 9 years here. I’m looking forward to what’s next.
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Director's biography

2009-07-23T22:57:00.009+02:00

1982-2000

I was born on the 15th October 1982 from a Belgian father and a Thai mother. I was raised in Belgium, in a small village close to the border to Germany and the Netherlands. Very early, I was put a still picture camera in my hands by my father and grand-father, both enthusiastic members of the local photo club. Being a bit nerdy at age 12, I grew a big passion for computers and started emerging myself in the world of computer graphics. At 16, I produced my first animation which landed a selection at Imagina. My second one was selected at Imagina and Siggraph.

2001

After high school, I moved to Brussels to start working as computer graphic artist in a company specialized in real time multi-players applications. Boring, didn’t suit me, I quit. During the 9 months that followed, I started working with digital video and photography again which I truly enjoyed. In serious need of money, I accepted a job as an artistic director in a company specialized in 3D renderings of architecture projects. Sounds good on paper, practically it meant creating 3D fly-through of malls. Boring, I quit, again.

2003

I decided to become a freelance director and cinematographer. With the help of close friends, we started producing event videos and photos, small commercials,… To bring some balance, we launched our first short film project called “Marla”, a different kind of fan movie based around the character from the novel “Fight Club”. It did very well online (www.marlathemovie.com) and even landed on Chuck Palahniuk’s official website, earning a good review from Filmthreat and an Netdiver Outstanding Project Award.

2004-2007

Things moved forward. Commercial work allows me to earn a living. Projects abroad appear mainly as cinematographer. Direction UK, USA, Cambodia,… Time to focus on a personal project, a feature film.

2008-2009

I’ve always been very attracted by the subject of travel and the very notion of home. I decided to place that at the center of my script. Partly autobiographical “Somewhere between here and now” is my first feature and my second fiction altogether. The project was self-funded and produced by Olan Bowland and myself. It was shot in 19 days on HDV with a crew of 4 (me included), all on location, almost exclusively with natural light (only two scenes were “lit”). There was no casting process either, we knew all the actors from previous projects. Olan and I then went to Thailand, Laos and Malaysia to shoot the intro sequence using two little still cameras in video mode.

The movie was finally finished end of April 2009.

I’m currently writing what could be seen as a sequel. It’ll be called “same same but different” and will take mainly place in South-East Asia. Fingers crossed.
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Director's filmography

2009-07-23T22:48:00.007+02:00

2009 - Same Same but Different - Feature (currently in development)

2009 - Somewhere Between Here and Now - Feature

2004 - Marla - Short

Also working as a commercial and music video director (more info at www.theblacksheep.be)
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Making of

2009-07-23T22:15:00.001+02:00

Stills taken from the video shot by Azilys Romane. More pictures on Flickr

Stills

2009-07-23T21:30:00.000+02:00

Somewhere Between Here and Now STILLS on Flickr

Interview Cineuropa

2009-07-23T20:27:00.007+02:00

Cineuropa met with Belgium’s Olivier Boonjing (director) and Olan Bowland (producer), who are behind the astonishing Somewhere Between Here and Now, which treats viewers to sophisticated nocturnal banter in cosmopolitan Brussels and was shot with a limited team and an almost non-existent budget. The film, selected in competition at the Brussels Film Festival 2009, picked up the Prime Telenet Audience Award.

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Interview Indymedia

2009-07-23T19:29:00.003+02:00

Being a bit more experienced with the interview making, our gonzo team met Oivier Boonjing, the belgian director of the fantastic film: "Somewhere between here and now".

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Trailer

2009-07-23T19:24:00.002+02:00

Edited by Adil Nahjari. Sound editing and mix by Thibaut Darscotte.

Contacts

2009-07-23T18:56:00.001+02:00

Another State of Mind Films
Rue Gustave Defnet 29
1060 Brussels
Belgium

E-Mail: info@asom-films.com
Web: www.asom-films.com

Olivier Boonjing
+32 477 84 78 65
olivier@asom-films.com

Olan Bowland
+32 477 82 72 20
olan@asom-films.com

Stanley Kowalski
+32 486 74 72 78
stan@asom-films.com
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