Awareness Film Festival - Eat me
An airhead beauty is transformed by a vision of dancing and singing food.
Interview with Director Ilina Perianova
Watch Eat me here:
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
Food and appetite-related topics have always been an obsession with me and my family. Even my theatre directing graduation project back in 2010 was called “ I am hungry”. And as I have a great interest and love for musicals “ Eat me!” was a natural continuation for my work.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
If you would like to see your Food jumping off a plate and singing ‘Eat, eat, we are so delicious...” this film is for you! It is a short musical film that deals with extremely important topics such as food waste, the dubious content of our food and our relationship to eating and food in a funny and entertaining way, suitable for grown-ups and kids alike.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
The film dives into the personal story of a weight-obsessed beautiful woman, who is afraid of eating in contrast to her rich, gluttonous and cynical lover. Through the prism of their skewed relationship it looks at universal food-related issues.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development and production?
Working on this script was very challenging, specifically in regard to the songs. I was very lucky to have on board the Estonian scriptwriter Katariina Rebane and my sister Yagama, who contributed a lot to the story and the lyrics.
Usually, I kept changing the dialogue and some scenes until the last moment as work with the actors progressed. I like giving my actors a certain freedom of expression and a proximity to their language. Yet for “ Eat me!” we had to fix the script before the rehearsal period, because of the songs and the special effects in the film. As the whole music in the film is original, the songs had to be performed by professional singers and recorded before the rehearsal period.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
There are two types of people-those who really like the film and those who don’t understand or don’t like it at all. The story is multi-dimensional and controversial and the main criticism I have received so far is that there are too many layers in it. Also, the film is not politically correct and may offend big corporate food companies and people who don’t have any food consciousness and fail to understand why they and their descendants would eventually need it.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
I expected this kind of feedback because most of the people and festivals currently are looking for more simple narratives, linear messages and the stories that are popular have mostly elements of social drama in them.
However I believe ” Eat me! “ is a unique piece of cinema and has a very interesting visual fantasy style, which partially I consider my trademark, as I often work with surreal, fairy- tale elements.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com
I am hoping that Eat me! will get a more broad audience and attention, so that also we would be able to have the possibility to create its feature length and stage version. Also I would be happy if the film gets access to the younger generation (it already received awards for kid’s film), as it was initially thought and written as an educative film as well.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
We are currently looking for people who would be interested in joining our team for the distribution and sales of the film, but also journalists, who would give it more visibility. As well we are looking for producers who would be interested in working on the stage and feature length version of the film.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
I would be happy if more people think about what they eat and how their relationship to the food reflects their attitude to other people as well. Also I hope it would inspire more people to grow their own food and throw away less.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
Are we going to eat away our planet and destroy our future, or will we try to create a better future?
Would you like to add anything else?
I would like to add how thankful I am to the entire team and in particular, to my sister Yagama (Producer, Art director), Alexander Krumov ( Producer, DOP), the very talented young composer Emelina Gorcheva, the rhythmical and pretty Sofia Georgieva ( Choreographer, role: The Pastry), Yancho Mihailov ( Producer) the superb actors ( Nigel Barber, Luiza Grigorova etc.) my family and our kickstarter supporters for making this film.
What are the key creatives developing or working on now?
Currently Ilina Perianova is developing several projects, including short films and a feature length version of “Eat me!”. Both Ilina and Yagama, who are a sister team are working on an experimental short with animation techniques called “ Appetite”. Yagama, who is also a painter, is preparing an exhibition on death and sex. Alexander Krumov, the DOP and producer of the film, is working on several feature length films.
Interview: October 2016
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We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series and music video. If you have just made a film - we'd love to hear from you. Or if you know a filmmaker - can you recommend us? More info: Carmela
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Eat me!
An airhead beauty is transformed by a vision of dancing and singing food.
Length: 20:56
Director: Ilina Perianova
Producer: Ilina Perianova, Yagama aka Marianna Perianova, Alexander Krumov, Yancho Mihailov, Deyan Bararev
Writer: Ilina Perianova, lyrics: Yagama aka Marianna Perianova, Ilina Perianova, Katariina Rebane
About the writer, director and producer:
Ilina Perianova has studied theatre and film and has lived in Estonia, France and Bulgaria. She is inspired by nature, fairy-tales, music and dance .
Yagama, aka Marianna Perianova, is a visual artist with numerous creative projects a graduate of Hunter College, who currently resides in Berlin. Her poetry has been published in Bulgaria.
Alexander Krumov is one of the most promising cinematographers in Bulgaria, with numerous awards for his work. He has been part of many USA productions filmed in Bulgaria.
Key cast: Luiza Grigorova, Nigel Barber, Eliyan Arroyo, Dilqna Spasova, Ivailo Draganov, Lilia Christova, Iskren Petkov, Yoana Ivanova, Borislav Hristov, Sofia Georgieva
Looking for (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists): sales agents, buyers, film festival directors, journalists
Funders: Uga Bulga art, Crossroad Pictures, Heinrich Boell Foundation
Made in association with: National Palace of Culture Bulgaria, Shtipka / Pinch/Association, Batic Film and Media School, Environmental Association Za zemiata Bulgaria, American Associaton for Bulgaria
Release date 01. 2016