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Here

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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

Director
Cast

Stefan Gota, Liyo Gong, Cedric Luvuezo, Teodor Corban, Saadia Bentaïeb

Credits
Country of Origin

Belgium

Year

2023

Series

Panorama

Language

In Dutch, French, Romanian, Chinese with English subtitles

Film Contact
18+
82 min
Drama Romance

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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 headshot

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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