Pan African Film Festival - Soulmates
Charlene lives in the new world where you can meet people on the Internet to find the love of your life. This proximity is very common among single men and women today, but Charlene ignores all the surprises hidden in the virtual world.
Interview with Writer/Director Dom Fred
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
"Soulmates" is the culmination of a desire I had for a long time: to realize a romance against a background of drama. The challenge I wanted to meet was to offer viewers an original and emotional story from a simple meeting on the internet.
After devoting most of my career as a director to action and combat films, I wanted to open myself up to a new genre and put my staging skills to the service of a mobilizing and ambitious project. For this love story, I then looked for all possible dramaturgical directions. My meeting with Frédéric Portalet, the screenwriter of the film, was instrumental in shaping the plot and made clear the choice of fantasy romance as a genre for this film.
Imagine that I am a member of the public. Why should I watch this film?
In "Soulmates", a young woman and a young man meet on the internet. From this meeting will be born a series of events as vibrant as it is troubling. This project is in the spirit of films such as "Sixth Sense" by Mr. Night Shyamalan or "Ghost" by Jerry Zucker. It is also, undoubtedly, an acknowledged homage to the films of Alfred Hitchcock. I think lovers of the fantastic universe will love the plot and the suspense just through the title of the movie "Soulmates". Do we all need to know who our soulmate is in our life? That's why I think people will go see this movie.
How do personal and universal themes work in your movie?
This film speaks of both the proximity and the danger we have today through the media and the Internet. We are easily close to people in one click, but we will never have enough information about people we meet on the Internet by simple virtual exchanges. There are profiles on the internet where people are already dead but, the image is still there (on dating sites and Facebook). The determination to meet love is becoming easier nowadays via the internet and people are starting out without fear in the world of social media.
How did the screenplay and the film evolve during their development?
I come from the medium of advertising and I often direct commercial projects, movies in the world between 30 seconds and 1 minutes. I have to write a script taking into account the duration of the film, the budget we have at the production level, then the delivery date, which is very often short.
Soulmates began from an idea of several scenes that I wanted to realize taking into account the time and the difficulties that I could have, knowing that I was the only one who could realize it, the editing of the images and the post-production.
With the support of a friend writer Frédéric Portalet, we were able to see together how to make history evolve, keeping in mind the financial and logistical possibilities to not have technical difficulties. In a nutshell, we worked as a small team and focused on suspense and intrigue through the excellent direction of the actors.
What type of comments have you received so far?
We had good feedback on the film since the first images of the trailer on the internet, for the promotion of the film and also during the reading of the script by the actors, before the shooting began last June. The official release of my film was in Los Angeles at PAFF last February.
I could see that the movie caught the attention of many people in the room and the satisfaction was there. Above all, I noted the public demand for a longer version! If we have the support of partners, we can make a longer version of the film.
Did the comments surprise or challenge your point of view?
I noted the feedback and that will allow me to do better in the future. We had a lot of support and good comments overall.
What are you trying to achieve by making your movie more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
For my part, it is already a privilege to be asked by you. I live in France and with my film, I've come to know you. My wish is then to have more visibility so that the film is seen by many more people. So thank you in advance.
Who do you need to join (producers, sellers, buyers, distributors, festival directors, journalists) to amplify the message of this film?
I was able to set up a media plan for the film via the inscriptions to the various festivals in the world and the proof is that we are currently with you right now. We need to make the film more visible, hoping to reach producers and distributors of the film industry.
What type of impact and / or reception would you like to have in this film?
It's an artistic work that we make available to all. The impact is the work of a team that has believed from the beginning and the reception at its film festival screening; which for me, is the result of the effort.
What is a key question that will help spark debate or start a conversation about this film?
The story of this film is a fiction. It may be far from reality for some people and I am aware of it. The only question is: Are we in danger on dating sites (Is there a guaranteed security for all?).
Would you like to add something?
I would like to say thank you to my film crew and the festivals that gave us the opportunity to be in front of the public with our film.
What other projects are key creations under development or work?
I am in production and post production on short films right now.
I will be beginning new projects before the end of the year.
Interview: April 2018
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We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series, music video, women's films, LGBTIAQ+, scifi, horror, world cinema. 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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SOULMATES
Duration: 20 minutes
Director: Dom Fred
Producer: Dom Fred, Amine Gabdou Mahamat, Frédéric Portalet and Jean-Paul Akono, bleyaert guy
Writer: Dom Fred, Frédéric Portalet
About the author, director and producer:
Dom Fred, a talented director and producer wearing several hats.
Specialist in digital special effects in 3D technology, coordination of fight scenes for cinema and advertising in France and around the world. He is director of a post-production company. After training in multimedia and 3D digital he decides to put all his skills at the service of the French, American, British and African productions of the genre: Drama, Documentary, Action, Romances, War, Fantasy .... The last one is a world documentary: Death for freedom with the collaboration of the BBC and France television.
Keychain: SOULMATES, France, Amine Gabdou Mahamat, Fred Dom, cynthia saint-fleur
You are looking for (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, directors of film festivals, journalists): Producers, sales agents, directors of film festivals.
Social Media Grips: DOM FRED FILMS
Facebook: DOM FRED FILMS
Twitter: DOM FRED FILMS
Where can I watch next and next month? vimeo.com/DOM FRED FILMS