Tag: Lavinia Simina

Lavinia Simina answers our dirty questions

Posted on by victorfraga

An autistic teen is taunted and bullied by a street gang in a leafy London suburb, in Lavinia Simina’s second feature Acceptable Damage (2019). The bullying tactics are profoundly dehumanising and intimidating. Katy is branded a “twitchy bitch” (in reference to the body language often associated with Asperger Syndrome). The bullies taunt and insult her at her doorstep, and one day they eventually break into her house.

Last week Acceptable Damage won an important prize at the National Film Awards. We spoke to the woman behind the camera about her film journey and achievements.

You can watch Acceptable Damage on Prime Video.

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Victor Fraga – Acceptable Damage is your second feature film. How did the project begin? And how is it different from your first feature, Memento Amare (2016)?

Lavinia Simina – It all commenced with an excellent script penned by Fiona Whitelaw, which gave me and fascinated me enough to start asking questions. It was a challenge to read about life from a unique viewpoint and hopefully get the audience with me on an emotional journey.

Memento has a deep significance for me, as a first feature, as a European film, as an auteur project. It remains an important part of my journey as a filmmaker and reminds me of some three most difficult days of filming so far.

VF – Please tell us more about the topic of disability and casting. Is it true that the film lead actress Elinor Machen-Fortune is autistic?

LS – Yes, and it was necessary for us that the main role was played by Elinor. She is an excellent actress who informed the character during pre-production in our many conversations so we could meet the part with as much authenticity as possible.

Come to think of it, it was an emotional journey for all of us, cast and crew as it is not a very light story to portray but tackles into the life of real people, who unfortunately are not so privileged in getting all the protection they need to be able to live an easy and peaceful life.

VF – You are a British-Romanian filmmaker. How did Romanian audiences react to your film? Is their experience different from British viewers?

LS – I cannot answer this question as the film was not yet distributed in Eastern Europe, so I have no real feedback on that. We had a brilliant response distribution wise, reaching the US and here at home in the UK and we can only hope that the film will reach that part of Europe soon.

I hope that people will look at it as a film with a universal story about living in ostracism because you are different, instead of fitting a mould. It’s a cold, unkind world when you’re an outsider.

VF – Acceptable Damage won the Best Action category at the National Film Awards. What is the significance of this achievement?

LS – As always with any award, there’s a charming side to it that quickly goes away. One evening you’re on the red carpet in front of photographers and journalists, and the next morning you’re back at work on a new project, the world goes on and you’re wondering if it did happen at all.

I think that one is expecting that the award will invite more curiosity and desire to watch the film and will finally generate more opportunities for work. It’s all about the work in the end. But what was especially flattering about this award was that 4 million British people voted, and so we won against productions such as 1917 (Sam Mendes, 2019), Official Secrets (Gavin Hood, 2019), Blue Story (Andrew Onwubolu, 2020), etc. It was astonishingly unexpected and extremely humbling. It seemed that we’ve managed to take these people with us on an emotional journey after all.

VF – Finally, please tell us a little about your future projects and ambitions.

LS – I don’t feel like I have any ambitions at this point in my career. I’d say I have a lot of love for my work, and perhaps more clarity and patience. I let it happen when it needs to and it feels right. At the moment I’m working on two feature films, very distinct in genre and in various stages of production, both done with UK production companies and some Bafta awarded cast and crew. Unfortunately, I cannot reveal more at the moment but hopefully, you’ll be hearing about it soon!

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The image at the top is of Lavinia at the National Film Awards; the one below is a still from ‘Acceptable Damage’.

Memento Amare

Posted on by victorfraga

Mihai (Cristanel Hogas) is an immigrant. And as such he is divided between two nations. His beautiful wife and his young daughter dwell in Romania. Mihai is in London, where he toils as a construction worker, presumably in order to save money and provide a better future for his family. His relationship with his family is vibrant and colourful, while his life in the UK is sombre and colourless. This is emphasised by the photography, which switches from plush tones to black and white according to the geography and the protagonist’s state-of-mind.

The young Romanian gave up his own personal kingdom, complete with queen and little princess, in favour of a faraway and hardly hospitable Kingdom. He hasn’t seen his beloved ones in two years, he confides to a coworker. The United Kingdom is portrayed as a dark and divided nation. Immigrants are everywhere: there are Romanian and Bulgarian construction workers, and a Syrian refugee working in the local convenience store. Yet these people are not integrated into the heart of a nation that has become increasingly immigration-hostile and downright racist.

The action takes place shortly after the Brexit referendum. Enthusiastic Remainers are campaigning on the streets: “Not in Hackney, not in Brixton, not in our name, we want to Remain”. But the bigots are equally empowered, and the repression expresses itself in other shapes and forms. Mihai and other immigrants lose their job due to the prospect of leaving the EU, and Mihai has to work as a handyman in order to make ends meet. And he encounters violence on the streets: “Stop stealing our jobs and benefits, go back to your country”.

Memento Amare is a movie about wanting to move on, but being held back because of perverse circumstances. It is not a didactic and linear drama. The narrative is complex and multilayered. It zigzags back and forth: in time, between countries, between reality, allegory and imagination. Viewers are made to wear to shoes of a hard-working economic immigrant, and to experience his roller-coaster emotions and split allegiances.

Because the movie is not entirely chronological, there are hints of the disclosure in the very opening sequence. The outcome looks bleak yet inevitable. And it raises a number of questions: Could the psychological wounds of Brexit could stay open for decades? How will the “orphaned” generations react to having their king (and their kingdom) taken away from them? Is it possible that the young may seek justice with their hands? Is warring the only road towards redemption? One thing looks certain: solidarity has collapsed (perhaps to the point of no return), and the future is not bright.

You can watch Memento Amare at home on VoD.

Acceptable Damage

Posted on by victorfraga

Red-haired Katy (Elinor Machen-Fortune) lives with her mother Lucy (Fiona Whitelaw) somewhere in the suburbs of West London. The verdant neighbourhood looks peaceful and quiet, the type of perfect residential environment for bringing up your teenage daughter. But there’s unrest creeping out of the apparently placid streets into Katy and Lucy’s home: a local street gang has decided to pick on Lucy.

The bullying tactics are profoundly dehumanising and intimidating. Katy is branded a “twitchy bitch” (in reference to the body language often associated with Asperger Syndrome). The bullies taunt and insult her at her doorstep, and one day they eventually break into her house. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Katy struggles to develop a romantic relationship with Roxy (Elijah Baker), who is very closely associated to the gang. The young man becomes infatuated with Lucy after watching her sing in a local open mic night. He is genuinely split between his street friends and the fascinatingly coy Katy.

Despite being shy and introverted, Katy is not a weak character. She is undaunted by the knowledge of her disability. She does not wish to be seen as different and vulnerable. She’s prepared to confront her bullies, and her reaction will eventually land her in trouble with the police. Machen-Fortune has Asperger Syndrome in real life, which means that this must have been a profoundly liberating experience for the young actress. But she doesn’t “suffer” from her condition. I’m A Celeb star Anne Hegerty recently said: “I don’t suffer from Asperger. I suffer from idiots”, which also bodes very well for Elinor/Katy.

Acceptable Damage is a very tender and feminine film, produced (Anda Teglas) directed (Lavinia Simina), written (Fiona Whitelaw) and starred (Machen-Fortune and Whitelaw) by women. Tender doesn’t mean rosy and pretty. The photography is mostly dark and sombre with sparse artificial lighting, giving the film a certain realist feeling, plus rendering the whole experience a little mournful and jarring. It’s as if the DOP was saying: “youth is at ebullition, yet the outcome of such agitation isn’t always colourful and pretty”.

The institutions that failed to help Katy during her ordeal are also central to the story. Her mother Lucy frantically attempts to engage the police and even her local MP to no avail. An officer tells her: “vandalism and abuse is not an emergency”, while her MP dismisses her with an vapid remark: “as I understand this is an ongoing situation, and it’s monitored by Safer Neighbourhood Team”. She is instructed to send an e-mail, despite not being computer literate – this reminded me of I, Daniel Blake (Ken Loach, 2016), where the protagonist is forced to the grapple with the technology that he has never used.

Our lack of preparedness to deal with certain types disabilities becomes apparent, even in a society that takes disability more serious than most other countries. The mother’s desperation at such the consistent failure to help her daughter is entirely palpable. You will feel both indignant and moved. Also, be prepared for a very powerful denouement, which will hit you right in the nose!

Acceptable Damage premiered on March 7th (2019) at the Regent Street Cinema in London, in a partnership with DMovies. It’s out on VoD (Amazon, GooglePlay, Microsoft XBox and Sky Store) on Monday, March 25th. It shows on September 4th as part of the British Urban Film Festival in Ealing. It won the Best Action prize at the National Film Awards in 2021.