J

A FILM BY GAETANO LIBERTI

2018 / Bosnia and Herzegovina, Italy / 44 minutes / DCP / 1:1.46 / b&w and Colour / Sound 3.0
Language: Bosnian
Subtitles: English, French, Italian

Solitude has a fragile rhythm; once it is disturbed, connections come loose, new ones are forged and inner maps need to be redrawn. A reclusive cartographer briefly engages in a dialogue with a woman. For a moment, his whole world shivers. Then other abstract spaces, possibly empty, command his attention again.





— Deep into the forest, a man lives alone in a small white house. Maybe he is a fake recluse, because his unkempt beard is the only hermit thing about him. Through this habits and his work as a cartographer, despite himself, he seems to call forth the presence of a world that would open and complete his own. Gaetano Liberti films this appearance through a simple focal length change. As a sweet and silent presence, she appears, sitting right behind our man, as if she had been there all along. Her eyes are already playing. J could be the story of a blast of air through the branches, and could be proof that the sun had never disappeared. It is also a matter of viewpoint: what’s the right distance to look at those fragments of life that alone justify all the days that have passed? Solitude is a fragile rhythm; once that rhythm is disturbed, connections come loose, new ones are forged and time unveils its depths. No sooner has the calm of birch trees filmed in black and white spread than a pool ball followed by a twirling camera catches our eyes. In the middle of the night, the contrasting blue of a submarine simulator shows up unexpectedly: other abstract spaces, possibly empty, yet fascinating to our character. In Gaetano Liberti’s first film, the whole world shivers when two people get close. The shock wave spreads out, willingly disclosing grey, disappointing areas. When values cancel each other out, looks are forgotten, J takes on a new, unconscious rhythm: it is the only way we can write our inner maps. —

- VP, FidMarseille 2018 -



FESTIVALS AND PRIZES

－ FID Marseille 29° - 2018, Official Selection, World Premiere
－ BISFF Beijing - 2018, Official Selection
－ IFFR - International Film Festival Rotterdam - 2019, Official Selection
－ Trento Film Festival 2019, Special Mention - CinemAMORE Award





CREDITS

A Nigel Trei and Film.factory Production
In association with Altrove Films


FULL CAST AND CREW

J Ali-Adnan Grahić
Emily Mediha Musliović
Lady in the office Aida Hadžibegović
Emily's daughter Malal Musić
Invisible beggar Kamilla Gylfadóttir
Woman in the bar Mirela Rajković
Man in the bar Ümit Alaca
Pool players Lorenzo Fabbro, Roberto Vertieri
Man at the bar counter Osvaman Ratković
Bartender Emre Erdoğan

Direction Gaetano Liberti
Cinematographer Sigurður Möller Sívertsen
First Assistant Director Em Jaay
Second Assistant Director Šejla Lajlani
First camera assistant Dániel Botos, Luciano Pérez Savoy
Location sound Julie Rodrigue
Production design Ilaria Bassoli, Leonardo Maraner
Production design consultant Sanja Dzeba
Gaffer Armis Becirević (K-Light)

Editing Gaetano Liberti
Additional editor Roberto Cavallini
Sound design Gaetano Liberti, Christian Marchi
Foley and field recordings Christian Marchi
Post production supervisor Nihad Usanović
Lab and IT technician Bojan Mijatović
DCP mastering Marco Fantacuzzi (Cinema Key)

Production Gaetano Liberti, Emina Ganić
Production coordinator Mersiha Halilović
Creative producer Roberto Cavallini

Mentor Béla Tarr
Advisers Alexandru Baciu, Nicole Brenez, Tanja Vrvilo

Thanks to Adelmo Agić, Eldar, Marcello Galvani, Muna Mussie, Nedim and his house, Kumjana Novakova