The Girl Who Was Cursed
Stoner girl Gizem spends most of her day smoking weed on the couch while spying on her neighbours through binoculars. When the quirky boy across the street disappears, she has to get out of her comfortable cloud of smoke to find out where he is and gets caught up in a strange quest.
Interview with Writer/Director Zara Dwinger
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
The starting point of The Girl Who Was Cursed was when actress Sinem Kavus came to me with something strange she had experienced. When she was in a lonely phase in her early twenties she found a suicide note and began searching for the one who wrote it. Unfortunately, it didn’t end well. I pondered how to translate such an incredible story into a film. I noticed that I was more interested in the type of girl who would go on a search like this. I saw a modern-day version of a film-noir anti-hero in her: troubled, alone and looking for something impossible. I also saw something incredibly tragicomical in this kind of lost soul, especially because Sinem and I also shared a lot of the same humour. With her unique character, she really inspired me to think a little bit larger than life.
So inspired by this, I started writing a 45-minute screenplay for this weird neo-noir with a strongly fictionalised version of my actress as the main character. It was really interesting to start the other way around: first the actress, then the story. I saw the opportunity to create a female anti-hero like I've never seen before: a Dutch-Turkish weed-smoking girl who goes through life erratically, with rude gestures and always searching. A type of character I would like to see more in films myself.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
You should watch this film if you want to see a female version of the Dude stumbling through life and chasing a wannabe cowboy with undertones of melancholy. You should also watch this film if you like off-beat humour and unsolvable mysteries. You should watch this film just for the funky soundtrack filled with new and old Turkish psychedelic funk.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film
A recurring personal theme throughout my work is that I involuntarily keep telling stories about 'female outcasts'. Girls that just don’t fit in this world, as well as other people do. This is something I personally relate to. Not that I absolutely don’t belong, but I do feel a lot like I don’t. This uneasy feeling of being an outsider, when everyone else seems to be perfectly comfortable on the inside. Protagonist Gizem is the black sheep of her family, just smoking the realisation of this away into oblivion.
A bigger theme in the film is loneliness. I think especially among young people nowadays there is a lot more loneliness than there used to be. The pandemic made things worse. People live in their little bubbles and miss real connections. I think that might be the new epidemic: universal loneliness. This film was written and shot during lockdowns so that probably seeped into the story. Protagonist Gizem watches her neighbours with binoculars from the inside of her messy home.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
While writing the script I was searching for the right tone of voice. It was hard to pinpoint, both in writing and while shooting the film. I really liked experimenting and trying things out to create this. Balancing the line between drama, comedy, mystery and a quirky world of its own. As a filmmaker, I think you should always try at least one new thing in every movie. Stepping out of your comfort zone is scary as hell, but I think it’s always more interesting to be daring and fall than to stay safe and stand still.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
I got a lot of positive feedback. This kind of film is not something that’s seen a lot in The Netherlands, so it was really cool to hear a lot of people call it really refreshing.
It was also quite funny that a lot of my best friends said "So… you made a movie about you?" I was so surprised about this because it’s not a movie about me at all! In the literal sense at least. I do understand what they’re saying though, as a lot of the quirky things and off-beat humour in the film probably reflect me quite well.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
The feedback I got on this film has given me the confidence to keep creating off-beat characters, to stay true to the stuff I personally like even when it’s not 'the thing other people are doing', and to keep on daring.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
I hope the film will reach a more broad public from all around the world. I hope it inspires people to be their unique selves. Maybe girls who recognise themselves as the non-conforming protagonist will feel seen. At least I hope it will give people a wonderful, weird trip with some laughs along the way.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
It would be amazing if international distributors, film festival directors, or journalists love the film and want to amplify its message by featuring it!
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
I hope the film will inspire girls. Girls to be themselves, girls to write about girls in their strangely glorious ways, girls to play characters outside their comfort zone, girls who want to be filmmakers or musicians or anything that scary. If you’re scared, it’s good.
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
The new film that I co-wrote and directed and shot with a bunch of the same key creatives will have its world premiere at Berlinale 2023. It’s called Kiddo, a coming-of-age road movie about a 10-year-old and her estranged mother, with a tragicomical lovers-on-the-run twist. It has a more dramatic undertone than The Girl Who Was Cursed, but it features the same quirky characters and humour.
Interview: January 2023
We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series, music video, women's films, LGBTQIA+, POC, First Nations, scifi, supernatural, 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
The Girl Who Was Cursed
Stoner girl Gizem spends most of her day smoking weed on the couch while spying on her neighbours through binoculars. When the quirky boy across the street disappears, she has to get out of her comfortable cloud of smoke to find out where he is and gets caught up in a strange quest.
Length: 45:38
Director: Zara Dwinger
Producer: Studio Ruba
Writer: Zara Dwinger
About the writer, director and producer:
ZARA DWINGER is a writer-director who makes visually stylised and playful films with a heart. She gravitates towards stories about young people finding their place in the world, one way or another. Her first mid-length film The Girl Who Was Cursed premieres at Slamdance Film Festival 2023, and her first feature film Kiddo will have its international premiere at Berlinale 2023.
STUDIO RUBA is an Amsterdam-based boutique production company founded in 2019 by producers Maarten van der Ven and Layla Meijman. With a select group of filmmakers, we focus on creating cinematic cutting-edge stories. Both producers have a hands-on mentality and knowledge on both the production and the creative side, handling all projects with great care.
Key cast: Sinem Kavus (Gizem), Victor IJdens (Samuel), Frieda Barnhard (Sjaak), Ilker Delikaya (Özcan), Oya Capelle-Karisman (Yildiz), Siawaash Cyrroes (Parcel deliverer), Steef Cuijpers (Henk), Marlijn van der Veen (Mattressking employee), Patrick Stoof (Samuel Senior), Pharmindra Kedar (Colleague Henk), Ouria Tsouli (Coffeegrounds lady)
Looking for: journalists, film festival directors, sales agents, distributors and buyers
Instagram: @zaragina
Hashtags used: #thegirlwhowascursed #slamdancefilmfestival #slamdance #narrativefeaturecompetition
Website: zaradwinger.com
Other: IMDb
Funders: NPO-fonds, Nederlands Filmfonds, CoBo