TIFF 2010: Interview with Arielle Javitch (Look, Stranger)

First introduced to the filmmaker via Filmmaker Magazine’s inclusion of her in the 25 New Faces issue, 2010 is undoubtedly Arielle Javitch’s signature year as Look, Stranger, the Sundance and Cinereach supported and Lisa Muskat produced drama is among the gem finds in TIFF’s Discovery section. Lensed by Ramin Bahrani’s Dp Michael Simmonds, Javitch’s non-essay, somewhat experimental, shoe-string budgeted film takes plenty of chances.

Much like fellow TIFF selected Denis Villeneuve’s Incendies, this works with a geographical location that is unidentified, apolitcal, borderless and yet is all to familiar for anyone who whose been affected by the war-torn tragedies of the last couple of decades. Mostly void of dialogue, moral degradation is the film’s key concern, but the notion of resilience (perfectly fitted and enveloped in Romanian, surprisingly very English 4 months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days actress Anamaria Marinca) provides this portrait with an almost lyrical rawness and explains the plight that many female refugees have had to endure, forget or overcome. A survivalist tale working with a different code, in my sit down with the writer-director, I was curious to know more about how Javitch crafted a text that lends itself well to a physically driven performance and learned that the film on paper bares very little resemblance to the original drafts.