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NAME ME

original title: KAK MENYA ZOVUT

2014, Russia, 93 min, first film, drama, color, DCP

love triangle sea life

CATEGORIES : Drama, Debut
COUNTRY: Russia
PRODUCTION : BUDGET : $1 200 000

FESTIVALS & AWARDS

CAST

Konstantin Lavronenko, Alexandra Bortich, Marina Vasilieva, Kirill Kaganovich, Anna Kotova

CREW

Director : Screenplay : Lubov Mulmenko, Nigina Sayfullaeva
Cinematographer : Mark Ziselson
Producers : Igor Tolstunov, Sergey Kozlov, Sergey Kornikhin
Poster

COMMENTS

DIRECTOR EXPLICATION

This film is a psychological drama about daughter-father relations. It is about a gaping void that Sasha feels – a void that should have been filled in by the father and that she tries to fill in by other empty relations with guys or just by dissipated life that does not bring anything but a strong sense of frustration. It is about this girl feeling herself abandoned and laying claims on a complete stranger. And he finally accepts these claims, despite having once had problems with another family and another daughter).

This story has a genre engine, almost a comical one: two girls visit the father of one of them and dupe him: the friend of his daughter pretended to be his daughter and vice versa. But this practical joke opened up painful psychological traumas that neither the girls nor the father could even imagine. And the context of ‘substitution’ flares up the psychological tension in the film; the practical joke goes too far. Olya, the real daughter of Sergey, cannot influence the situation anymore: she is constrained to watch the efforts of Sergey and Sasha to create father-daughter relations. Olya tries to start a kind of contact with Sergey but realizes that he is not at all interested in a girl he considers just a friend of his daughter.

To create the film, it was extremely important to achieve authenticity and maximum lifelikeness in shooting and in acting. We also wished to preserve the optimistic mood of the film and, instead of proving the hopelessness of such situations, find answers to the questions posed.

SYNOPSIS

Two 17-year-old Moscowite girls, Olya and Sasha, are going to the Crimea to meet Olya’s father Sergey. Sergey has lived in a small seaside village his whole life and he has never seen his only daughter. When Olya finds herself at the threshold of her father’s house, she gets scared of meeting him. Olya asks Sasha “to trade places with her”. So Sasha introduces herself as Olya and pretends to be Sergey’s daughter while Olya claims to be her best friend. At first girls have their fun. Little did they know that this innocent joke will turn into great drama and change their lives forever.

PRESS

Acredito que este Name Me foi um filme concretizado sem a menor intenção de invocar uma crítica social e politica…

Hugo Gomes, Cinematograficamente falando

A narrativa os acompanha com uma certa cumplicidade enquanto num tremendo loop de emoções. Esta é uma fascinante primeira obra, que visa uma construção versátil nas suas personagens e a desconstrução da sua ênfase dramática, ao mesmo tempo que tece uma demanda cronista e subliminar do conflito da Crimeia, perceptível a quem pretender ver para além das aparências. A não perder!

Ferran Cano, Vival

La propuesta rusa (hacía once años que no había ninguna obra rusa en el festival) narra como dos amigas viajan para conocer el padre de una pero, fruto de la vergüenza de esta, la otra se hace pasar por la hija y este juego lo acaba complicando todo. Aunque hay algunos momentos divertidos, el guion de Name me es bastante simple y flojo, intentando introducir subtramas que no cogen ninguna importancia ni ningún significado en especial al metraje (como los líos con el novio).

Cinéma : la nouvelle vague russe

Polina Ryjova, Gazeta.ru /Courrier International

De toutes les turpitudes humaines, celle-là mieux que nulle autre nous apprend les sentiments. En premier lieu, bien sûr, la souffrance. Et Saïfoullaeva, à l’égal d’Ozon ou de Kechiche, parle cette langue magnifiquement. Mais ce qui fonde les espoirs représentés par Saïfoullaeva pour le cinéma russe contemporain n’est peut-être pas tant ce talent envoûtant que l’aptitude de la réalisatrice à faire exister des personnages ici et maintenant, et à les faire parler une langue, certes crue, mais vraie.