FRED Film Radio - Interview with Nuriman Turebayev on the film ADVENTURE (Priklyuchenie)
FESTIVAL SYNOPSYS - Marat is a solitary figure, both in private and at work, where he is a night security guard for a large company. One evening he looks out of his window and sees a young woman down below who seems to be waiting for someone. The next day Marat sees her again, but this time he witnesses her being assaulted, so he goes to her aid and accompanies her home. His curiosity is aroused when the girl, named Mariyam, tells him that she waits every evening for her lover, who is supposed to be returning any day now. On subsequent days, Mariyam takes Marat to various parts of the city, and although her actions continually cause him trouble, the man cannot help being drawn to her complex personality.
In his loose adaptation of Dostoyevsky’s White Nights, the director opts for maximum economy and, via fleeting images of repeated situations, gives the narrative the impression of a spiral structure. The film was shot on the streets of Almaty, but was enhanced with subtle artistic and acoustic details which illustrate the protagonist’s fascination for the young woman and lend the tale its strange, melancholic ambience.
Matt Micucci: So this film is based on a work by Dostoevsky?
Nuriman Turebayev: [...] Some of Dostoevsky's works are a little heavy, but there was something about White Nights I liked. It was much more dreamy and airy. [...] Although I actually changed most of the things that were written in the novel, I did it because I thought it would be too difficult to a modern audience to perceive some of the elements in the original story - like the characters.
MM: The visual style is very particular.
NT: We decided to make the film using only static camerawork, with minimal movement. It is quite difficult to make a movie like that, but every single shot is quite conpressed and comcentrated [...] this is the way that was used by early directors in the early 20th century, before they learnt that you can move the camera. I actually like this approach a lot and I believe that it can have a great impact on movies.
MM: Why did you choose a deadpan style?
NT: Everyone looks for their own distinctive style. This is only my third film and I feel like I am still looking for my particular style although I also believe that with this film I have already discovered in which direction I would like to go.