Too Far Too Close

Too Far, Too Close is a frame story, connecting the lives of a handful of city residents. A search for a lost cat sets the characters in motion, but their hunt between windows, doors, rooftops and walls is also a search for connection with their absent loved ones.
In a time where we find each other more often there where our images meet and where our written words touch, distance feels more relative than ever. Too Far, Too Close draws life paths like chalk lines in a small drawing, while in memory they live at half a world's distance apart.

  • Margo Mot
    Director
    De Vlakte
  • Margo Mot
    Writer
    De Vlakte
  • Julie Sokolowski
    Key Cast
    Hadewijch - Bruno Dumont
  • Hans Dagelet
    Key Cast
    Russen, Helium, Hemel, De Lift
  • Margo Mot
    Producer
    De Vlakte
  • Project Type:
    Short, Student
  • Genres:
    Drama
  • Runtime:
    25 minutes 11 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    January 1, 2018
  • Production Budget:
    8,000 EUR
  • Country of Origin:
    Belgium
  • Country of Filming:
    Belgium, Spain
  • Language:
    Arabic, Dutch, French
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital 2K
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    Yes
  • Ciné Privé
    Ghent
    Belgium
    March 16, 2018
    National Premiere
  • Short Days
    Rome
    Italy
    November 19, 2018
    International Premiere
    Jury prize
  • ZOOM zbliżenia
    Jelenia Gora
    Poland
    February 21, 2019
    Polish premiere
  • Arizona Short Film Festival
    Tempe
    United States
    April 7, 2020
Director Biography - Margo Mot

Margo Mot studied filmmaking at KASK in Ghent, where she practiced both documentary and fiction. In 2015 she received her bachelor’s degree with the fiction short film ‘De Vlakte’ (Clearing). This film was selected by Brussels Short Film Festival and won 'Best Drama Short' at Santorini Film Festival. Based on autobiographical stories and affected by courageous filmmakers such as Aki Kaurismäki and Chantal Akerman, Margo graduated in 2017 with ‘Too Far Too Close’. Although her masterproject was well received by the jury, she decided to re-edit. The final cut of ‘Too Far Too Close’ premiered in March 2018 at Ciné Privé Festival in Ghent.

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Director Statement

In Brussels over 5,000 people live per square kilometre. I live together with two of my best friends but right now I feel more connected to someone living 1,320 kilometres away. Where a social network used to arise around the local church, social contact today is less area-based and connections span the world.
Distance feels more relative than ever. I know barely anything about the other rooms around me. From time to time I see a neighbour smoking on his terrace or I hear a television, or a neighbour practicing a musical instrument. On the other hand, I do know a lot about a room 1,320 kilometres away. Or do I? We’re living in a time when we find each other more often there where our images meet and where our written words touch. ‘Being connected’ never seemed so ready-made. ‘Here’ and ‘there’ were never shared so frequently, but where does ‘here’ end and ‘there’ begin?
In Brussels you can find 163 different nationalities. As a filmmaker I don’t want to focus on the differences between people, but on the similarities. Many citizens are constantly in contact with someone situated at a great physical distance. It fascinates me how our daily life paths cross like chalk lines in a small drawing, while our minds are half a world apart. Charmed by old-school films driven by letters I wanted to search the poetry and intimacy of the techno- logy-driven communication of today. Obviously Skype, Messenger, etc. are unavoidable elements in this project.
With ‘Too Far Too Close’ I wanted to compare physical distance with mental distance on the basis of a simple fictional narrative. This narrative (a simple search) serves as leitmotif to bring different characters together and on which to hang the essence of what I want tell, to complete a layered piece.