10.000KM OF LONG DISTANCE LOVE AT AFI, ADVANCE REVIEW
The American Film Institute (AFI) just wrapped up their week-long annual film festival that boasted many a movie, which were screened at Landmark movie houses including the Dolby, the Egyptian, and The Chinese 6 theaters in Hollywood.
During AFI FEST’s 8-day-long festival spanning from November 7 to 14, 120 films were screened by members of the press and the general public. Among the gems of independent films included 10.000KM, a touching, brilliant movie that won the 2014 SXSW Film Festival award for Special Jury Prize for Acting.
As of the closing of AFI FEST 2014, 10.000KM won the American Independents Audience Award. 10.000KM tells the story about the relationship of Sergi (David Veraguer) and Alexandra (Natalia Tena), a young couple based in Barcelona, who face major changes in their relationship and overall lives when Alex is given the opportunity of a lifetime and is chosen for an all-expenses paid residency to work on her passion for photography. The catch: she has to relocate to Los Angeles for a year, away from her beloved Sergi.
Determined to make their relationship work 10,000 km away from one another, the couple chronicles their time apart with routine video chats, making use of technology in order to keep their relationship alive. It starts off promising, but like with many long-distance relationships, sometimes the distance gets to be too much and opens your eyes to a whole new world. As a viewer, you spend practically the whole movie rooting for the two, but the pivotal finale of the movie when the two finally reunite might leave you torn, begging the question: should they or shouldn’t they?
Even if you aren’t in a long-distance relationship or have ever experienced the predicament, the film still has the incredible impact to draw from whatever experience you’ve had and conjure those emotions full-force. The use of technology in the love story, especially in this high-tech day and age where we often try to find love behind the comfort of a computer screen, is genius, as many people can relate in even just a small capacity. Veraguer and Tena are just brilliant in their portrayal of Sergi and Alex, breathing life into the two long-distance lovers and evoking emotion from the audience – there was not a dry eye in the pivotal points of the movie.
After the film, director Carlos Marques-Marcet and some of the film crew held a Q&A session with the viewers, giving us insight on the development and the filming of the movie. It turns out that it’s been a six year journey in the making of 10.000KM. When asked if the film reflects his personal experiences, he went on to explain that while he was in a long-distance relationship when he moved to Los Angeles from Barcelona, many of the details about the couple in the movie is in fact inspired by the first-hand experiences of his cast and crew members. As for the movie’s semi-cliffhanger of an ending, Marques-Marcet explains that those who are optimistic of the relationship can believe what they want to believe happened at the end.
