In the city of Brussels, a Romanian construction worker (Stefan Gota) about to leave on vacation, crosses paths with a Belgian-Chinese biologist (Liyo Gong) writing a dissertation on moss. Such is the slender but fruitful starting point for Here, a film so attuned to the rhythms and textures of the everyday that even its characters’ names are an afterthought. Taking us from city to country, from concrete urban locales to lush natural environs, Belgian filmmaker Bas Devos’ fourth feature suggests that the beauty we find here knows no human distinctions. Winner of the top prize in the Berlinale’s adventurous Encounters section, the film is a sensuous wonder, featuring precise 4:3 tableaux, tactile 16mm photography, compositions reminiscent of Edward Hopper, and the lilting rhythms of a gentle city symphony. Although there are hints of romance between the two leads, Here is less a full-blown drama than a luminous exploration of the visible world, a film about two people united by their mutual delight in their surroundings.
Community Partner
Stefan Gota, Liyo Gong, Cedric Luvuezo, Teodor Corban, Saadia Bentaïeb
Belgium
2023
Panorama
In Dutch, French, Romanian, Chinese with English subtitles
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Credits
Producer
Marc Goyens
Screenwriter
Bas Devos
Cinematography
Grimm Vandekerckhove
Editor
Dieter Diependaele
Production Design
Špela Tušar
Original Music
Brecht Ameel
Director
Bas Devos
Bas Devos was born in Zoersel, Belgium. Devos’ debut feature, Violet (2014), won the Jury Prize at Berlinale Generations and was selected for New Directors/New Films festival at MoMa, New York. His second feature, Hellhole (2019) was selected for Berlinale Panorama. His third feature, Ghost Tropic (2019), premiered only three months later at the Quinzaine des Réalisateurs at Cannes. Here (2023) is his fourth feature film. Devos is an alumni and professor of film at Luca School of Arts in Brussels.
Filmography: Violet (2014); Hellhole (2019); Ghost Tropic (2019)
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