Synopsis
IVUL is the extraordinary story of Alex, a young man who climbs on to the roof of a house and refuses to ever come back to earth. He lives out a brief and dramatic life in exile looking down upon a family that he loves but is too stubborn to return to.
Director's Note
As a child I spent many hours hiding up trees away from a difficult relationship with my father. High above the ground the world seemed less frightening. I played at being Tarzan or Robin Hood safe in the knowledge that the trees would hide and protect me.
Tree climbing is something that has never left me and as an adult I have enjoyed many hours in the forests of the French Pyrenees looking down on the world below. It was from the top of one of these trees that the idea for IVUL first came to me.
Inspired by these early memories I wanted to tell the story about a young boy that leaves home to live alone off the ground away from his family.
A small cast of actors and non-actors help create a world of magical realism firmly rooted in the power of everyday lives.
Chronicling the disintegration of a close-knit family the film shows the tragic outcome of a teenage boy who is wrongly accused of abusing his sister.
He vows never to set foot on the earth again and is transformed from boy to man whilst living deep in the Pyrenean forests.
ANDREW KÖTTING
Quotes
A long time before Christ, Pagans planted trees in the names of their children to connect the divine with the earthbound aspects of the soul. The planting of trees enabled the child’s imagination to live both on the ground and off the ground.
Andrew Badblood
avec JEAN-LUC BIDEAU AURELIA PETIT JACOB AUZANNEAU ADELAIDE LEROUX TCHILI CAPUCINE AUBRIOT MANON AUBRIOT – scénario JOHN CHEETHAM ANDREW KÖTTING ANDREW MITCHELL image NICK GORDON-SMITH GARY PARKER – premier assistant réalisation DAVID DUSA – montage DAVID DUSA BAPTISTE EVRARD musique CHRISTIAN GARCIA – chef opérateur son BRUNO AUZET – sound design PHILIPPE CIOMPI – mixage PHILIPPE CIOMPI HANS KÜNZI producteur délégué ÉMILIE BLÉZAT – coproducteurs ELENA TATTI THIERRY SPICHER
une coproduction Sciapode & Box Productions, avec Télévision Suisse Romande – une entreprise de SRG SSR idée suisse, Le Fresnoy – Studio National des Arts Contemporains, avec la participation de CinéCinéma, avec le soutien de l’Office Fédéral de la Culture (DFI), Suisse, la Région Aquitaine, la Région Midi-Pyrénées, Fonds régional d’aide à la création audiovisuelle & Commission du film, le Centre National de la Cinématographie, un scénario développé par Tall Stories Ben Woolford & Dan Weldon en association avec BBC Films & le soutien du Film Council