Here

[ara87]

"Here" (2010 USA)

Directed by Braden King. Written by Braden King & Dani Valent
Starring Ben Foster and Lubna Azabal

Plot:

A cartographer, Will Shepard hits the road for his latest job: to create a new, more accurate satellite survey of Armenia. During his assignment, he forms a bond with an Armenian expatriate and art photographer.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1127886/

[ara87]

Re: Here

An article about Ben Foster in his upcoming film "The Messenger," and the film "Here"


Ben Foster puts his heart into 'The Messenger'

By Michael Ordoņa
November 1, 2009

"Ben Foster is standing on a boulder in a field in Armenia.

That's not some trendy new Zen practice and he's not shooting a scene (although he's there working on "Here," his next film); he's just trying to manage some decent cell reception...

Between "The Messenger" and "Here," Foster skipped off to Germany for some cinematic culture shock on "Pandorum," the science-fiction thriller released earlier this fall.

"It's a throwback, '70s, haunted-house thrill ride -- on a spaceship. I think audiences who like that will respond to it," says the star of "3:10 to Yuma" and "X-Men: The Last Stand." "But I'm happy to be off the spaceship and in Armenia. Standing on a boulder."

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-ca-foster1-2009nov01,0,6415827.story

[KanadaHye]

Re: Here

Ben Foster, Lubna Azabal join Braden King's Armenia-set Here


The film started principal photography July 22 in Armenia.

Here was written by King and DanI Valent, and producers are Lars Knudsen and Jay Van Hoy for Parts and Labor (Old Joy, Treeless Mountain).

Foster has appeared in 3:10 To Yuma, Alpha Dog and forthcoming The Messenger; Azabal has been in Paradise Now and Body Of Lies.

The “landscape-obsessed road trip movie,” set entirely in Armenia, is about an American satellite-mapping engineer and an expat Armenian photographer who have an intense relationship during their travels together.

Here has already been backed by the Cannes Film Festival Atelier, Sundance/NHK International Filmmakers Award, Rockefeller/Renew Meida/Tribeca Film Institute Fellowship; the project also has been to Sundance’s screenwriting and directing labs.

The project is the first English-language, US feature to shoot entirely in Armenia. Crew members come from Serbia, Peru, the UK, US and Armenia.

“We are thrilled to be embarking on this groundbreaking journey throughout Armenia with an extraordinary cast and an international crew from the US, Europe, Armenia and beyond,” says in-demand US-based independent producer Knudsen. “It is our hope that this totally unique, award-winning project will help to re-define and expand the borders of contemporary independent film.”

Foster is repped by Brian Swardstrom at WME Entertainment and Ken Jacobson Management. Lubna is represented by UBBA.

http://www.screendaily.com/productio...003959.article

[ara87]

Re: Here

Status Update: Made the "Top 100 Most Anticipated Films of 2010" from IonCinema. Imdb page has been updated to include full cast and crew

Release date: Still no date set in stone, it's likely to go the indie route and tour festivals at first before a wide release.

Full synopsis:




Co-written by King and Dani Valent, Will Shepard (Foster) is an American satellite-mapping engineer contracted to create a new, more accurate survey of the country of Armenia. Within the industry, his solitary work - land-surveying satellite images to check for accuracy and resolve anomalies - is called “ground-truthing”. He’s been doing it on his own, for years, all over the world, but on this trip, his measurements are not adding up. Will meets Gadarine Najarian (Lubna Azabal) at a rural hotel. Tough and intriguing, she’s an expatriate Armenian art photographer on her first trip back in ages, passionately trying to figure out what kind of relationship - if any - she still has with her home country and culture. Fiercely independent, Gadarine is struggling to resolve the life she’s led in Canada and Europe with the Armenian roots that run so deeply, if unconsciously, through her. There is an almost instant, unconscious bond between these two lone travelers; they impulsively decide to continue together. HERE tells the story of their unique journey and the dramatic personal transformations it leads each of them through.

Will and Gadarine move through Armenia and its remarkable landscape photographing measuring, and experiencing the trip in their own individual ways and, ultimately, through each other’s eyes. Their journey takes them across the length of the country, from the Lori region in the north to the Iranian border in the south, and finally into the diplomatically undefined Nagorno-Karabagh region. It is here that they are forced to confront their intensifying relationship and the difficult questions it raises.

Why IonCinema placed it on the list

"It's hard enough making an indie film, even more difficult to make an indie film in a country that doesn't have the infrastructure for filmmaking whatsoever. I imagine that the screenplay about a human connection between two people via a landscape that is foreign to them may hold something special since it was workshopped and supported by the folks at Sundance, Rotterdam, Tribeca and Cannes."




Postcards from HERE

The movie has it's own youtube channel to which it is uploading "postcards" or mini documentaries of actual life in Armenia, which influenced the making of the movie. They're worth checking out, and you can do so here.

http://www.youtube.com/user/herefilm

[One-Way]

Re: Here

I don't think it'll get a wide release... limited, at most.

[ara87]

Re: Here

I don't think it'll get a wide release... limited, at most.

Well there's always hope, I can live with a limited release though

[KanadaHye]

Re: Here

Some clips from the movie... not something I'd watch unless it was 3am and there was nothing but this and infomercials.

HERE_Fight Scene 1280x720

HERE_Will Drops Gadarine Off 1280x720

HERE_Drunk in Meghri 1280x720

[One-Way]

Re: Here

I know the producer of this film, but I won't have the chance to see the film until it's finally released here. This is a review I came across, one of the very few, and it's horrible.

Rating: 1.5/5

What does it mean to be “here”? Is it physically being in a place, actively participating in your surroundings or trying to make a connection between the two? HERE takes these daunting questions and places them on the shoulders of cartographer Will (Ben Foster) and photographer Gadarine (Lubna Azabal) as we watch them travel through the landscape of Armenia.

Will meets Gadarine while on contract in Armenia to map the territory while Gadarine in turn is returning home after traveling the world taking photos. An unspoken bond appears to quickly form between the two over this shared wanderlust. The link seems to make sense – Will spends his days trying to place images while Gadarine spends hers trying to capture images. Unfortunately, I found myself continuously waiting to feel any real connection between the two. Their relationship seemed to spring out of nowhere and never took root after that. It was only once we were well into the film (and Will and Gadarine’s “relationship”) that the two engaged in any real conversation to help us care or connect with either character, let alone the two as a couple.

When Gadarine joins Will on his journey to various points around Armenia her spontaneity is weighed down by the fact that she is in her home country and finds herself dropping in on family and friends as they move around. As we watch these interactions, it becomes obvious that Gadarine is not a constant in their lives and is known more for leaving than ever staying. Will, on the other hand, seems to make friends wherever he goes and while Gadarine always seems to be running away from something, Will seems to be looking for something.

Through Gadarine’s interactions with her family and friends, we are able to understand a bit more about why she is the way she is whereas with Will we must rely on any stories he eventually reveals to her. This disproportionate development added to my struggle to fuse and understand their attachment to one another. It seemed director Braden King was more dedicated to showing the scenery (albeit breathtaking) surrounding the two instead of developing the relationship happening within it.

The entire film is literally shown in fast-forward at the end and the entire two hours could have probably been just that – a mish mash of near random images with some semblance of a story in between. The film would have benefited from some tighter editing and more of a focus on the narrative. I ended up finding both characters to be more selfish than adventurous and seemed to constantly choose their own self-interest over the wants or needs of anyone else around them.

HERE tries to take on the idea of being present in the moment but left me wanting to be anywhere but here.

Source

[Mos]

Re: Here

where can I watch this movie online? It looks like garbage but I still I want to see it as it pertains to my country.

[One-Way]

Re: Here

This film only recently premiered at Sundance. You won't be able to watch it online for quite a while, as it hasn't even secured distribution rights for a release.