Quiet Crossing
45,000 sections of reinforced concrete - three tons each. Nearly 300 watchtowers., over 250 dog runs, twenty bunkers. Sixty-five miles of anti-vehicle trenches—signal wire, barbed wire, beds of nails. Over 11,000 armed guards. A death strip of sand, well-raked to reveal footprints. 200 ordinary people shot dead following attempts to escape the communist regime.
96 miles of concrete wall. Families divided, loved ones lost…
"Quiet Crossing is a strong emotional, political story filmed by the Film BA students at the University of Westminster/Westminster Film School (London). It is a 1967 story of East German students, opponents of the communist regime, who are trying to emigrate to West Germany hidden at the back of a food delivery truck. They must remain quiet at the time of arrival at the border crossing point, or they will be discovered and executed for their anti-political activities. Anna's and Yans's sleeping baby on board is a time bomb that can explode at any time, and something unexpected happens..."
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WINNER - Oxford International Short Film Festival (2020, Oxford, UK)
WINNER - Film Only Film Festival (2020, London, UK)
WINNER - Couch Film Festival (2019, Toronto, Canada)
WINNER - Florence Film Awards (2019, Florence, IT)
WINNER - Short Film Factory (2019, Bucharest, RO)
WINNER - Short to the POINT (2019, Bucharest, RO)
WINNER - The Film Club Film Fest (2019, Tel Aviv, Israel)
WINNER - Košice International Monthly Film Festival (2019, Kosice, SK)
HONOURABLE MENTION - Berlin Flash Film Festival (2019, Berlin, DE)
FINALIST - Wallachia Int'l Film Festival (2019, Bucharest, RO)
FINALIST - rolling ideas (2019, Transylvania, RO)
SEMI-FINALIST - Los Angeles CineFest (2020, Los Angeles, USA)
SEMI-FINALIST - Student Los Angeles Film Awards (2020, Los Angeles, USA)
OFFICIAL SELECTION - Bensenville Short Film Festival (2019, Bensenville, USA)
OFFICIAL SELECTION - NukhuFest (2019, New York, USA)
OFFICIAL SELECTION - Rome Independent Prisma Awards (2019, Roma, IT)
OFFICIAL SELECTION - The Lift-Off Sessions (2019, Pinewood Studios, London, UK)
OFFICIAL SELECTION - CineShots (2019, London, UK)
OFFICIAL SELECTION - CKF International Film Festival (2019, Swindon, UK)
OFFICIAL SELECTION - 57th Golden Knight Malta International Short Film Festival (2019, Malta)
OFFICIAL SELECTION - 21° ISFF "Scrittura e Immagine" of Pescara (2019, Pescara, IT)
OFFICIAL SELECTION - 73 Cinema (2019, Wrexham, UK)
MONTHLY EDITION - Miami Independent Film Festival (2019, Miami, USA)
OFFICIAL SELECTION - New Renaissance Film Festival (2020, Amsterdam, NL)
OFFICIAL SELECTION - Artifact Small Format Film Festival (2020, Calgary, Canada)
OFFICIAL SELECTION - The Hanford International Film Festival (2020, Hanford, California, USA)
OFFICIAL SELECTION - Chennai International Short Film Festival (2020, Chennai, India)
OFFICIAL SELECTION - The Independent Days International Filmfestival (2020, Karlsruhe, DE)
OFFICIAL SELECTION - Oxford International Short Film Festival (2020, Oxford, UK)
OFFICIAL SELECTION - WIFI Film Festival (2020, Topeka, USA)
OFFICIAL SELECTION - Maine Student Film Festival (2020, Bangor, USA)
OFFICIAL SELECTION - Mosaic World Film Festival (2020, Rockford, USA)
OFFICIAL SELECTION - Pune Short Film Festival (2020, Maharashtra, India)
OFFICIAL SELECTION - Berlin Student Film Festival (2021, Berlin, DE)
OFFICIAL SELECTION - Screentest: National Student Film Festival (2021, London, UK)
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Patrik KrivanekDirectorSunshine, Walk in Dales, The Knocking
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Rik HulmeWriter
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Ella EddyProducer
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Tullia PaganoKey Cast"Anna"
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Matej PaprciakKey Cast"Yans"
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Jack PurkisKey Cast"Marcus"
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Deen GomezCinematography
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Project Type:Short, Student
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Genres:Drama, Political
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Runtime:4 minutes
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Completion Date:September 17, 2019
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Production Budget:1,000 GBP
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Country of Origin:United Kingdom
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Country of Filming:United Kingdom
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Language:English, German
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Shooting Format:Arriflex 16SR, 16mm
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Aspect Ratio:1.33
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Film Color:Black & White and Color
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First-time Filmmaker:No
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Student Project:Yes
Patrik Krivanek is a Czech Film and TVC's Director, Producer, and Writer. He is known for thought-provoking and visually-driven storytelling with an excellent eye for detail and excellent working with actors. He graduated from the world-renowned Film BA (Directing & Advanced Screenwriting) course at the Westminster Film School in the United Kingdom, where he was also the Vice President of the Film Society and Director of the Westminster Film Festival. He previously studied at the Film & TV School Wales (the University of South Wales - formerly Newport Film School). During his studies, he became a member of BAFTA Wales, a member of the British Film Institute (BFI), and a member of the Royal Television Society (RTS). His experience includes working on many short and feature films, high-end commercials, and television programs. In 2017, he worked as an Assistant Director on the Czech feature film Usmevy smutnych muzu (Smiles of Sad Men), which launched into cinemas in 2018 with an attendance of 180 thousand people in the first weeks. In 2019, the film was awarded the Czech Lion Award (Film Fans Award). Together with director Dan Svatek, he is now producing a new film, Dve slova jako klic (Two Words as the Key), to be shot all around the world. As a director, producer, and writer, he is also preparing his feature debut film, Muddy Shoes, with an expected cinema release in 2023. Additionally, he is an award-winning filmmaker. Many of the films he has written, directed, or produced either won or were nominated for awards at the internationally recognized film festivals all around the world, including Los Angeles, New York, Austin, Toronto, London, Berlin, Cardiff, and Prague.
With this film, I want to remind people the history because this history repeats itself, but in altered forms. Evil politics can have different faces; it is a strong political story from 1967. East German students, opponents of the communist regime, are trying to emigrate to West Germany hidden at the back of a food delivery truck. They must remain quiet at the time of arrival at the crossing point of the border, or they will be discovered and executed for their antipolitical activities. The film should serve the viewer in making their own opinions on how people who are forced to emigrate must undergo the reality of fear and often sacrifice someone else’s life in the fight for their own. Even though their lives change fundamentally, they will have to bear the consequences for the rest of their lives. It’s very today’s story. Our film was shot on vintage Arriflex 16SR and was shot entirely on 16mm film Kodak Vision3. We used an “old way of filmmaking”. For example, we didn't use any external monitors! We had only about 600 ft. of film stock which equals around 16 minutes of footage. Such a challenging experience!
Set for our period drama was built-in studios at the University Westminster in Harrow - London. By the university, we were permitted to use a film studio for 8 hours of filming only.
Set was designed by my super talented production designer Emily Roberts with whom we had to figure out how to get the static scenery of the movement to create the conjecture of a moving
car. To support this, I also had to choreograph actors so they could deliver performances that were evoking a feeling of a car moving.
Our pre-production time was also very short, about 3 weeks only. The most important part of your films is the cast; You always have to find the right actors who are not only talented actors but who are also able to analyze the story the same way you do. Finding good actors always needs some time which I and the producer Ella India Eddy didn’t have. Together, in a very short time, we have managed to cast actors who have delivered great performances which were essential for the right storytelling.
Producer's Statement
Quiet Crossing began as a mere University project that soon grew into a captivating short film commenting on political oppression, desperation and historical recurrence. This story reached out to me because it delves into the struggles of mankind under a dominating power. Despite being a film of little dialogue Quiet Crossing is a testament to the power of showing instead of telling. When developing this film Patrik, and I aimed to create a film that explored the complexities of the communist regime in East Germany and these young people’s unyielding determination to break free from the restraints of the Soviet Union.
As the Producer of this film I wanted it to encapsulate a message that could be understood by audiences of all ages and backgrounds. Even though Quiet Crossing is set in 1967, it tells a
timeless tale that is still applicable to many people's struggles worldwide today. Oppressive political regimes still reign. Families have no choice but to flee the tyranny of their home nations. The battle to truly be free from political injustice is still for some more difficult than ever before. Quiet Crossing is full of emotion, suspense, and despair. This film has a message to tell, and I am glad I was able to help this film grow in its completion.