Experiencing Interruptions?

The Touch

After just being informed about her sister’s death, Dolores spends the evening alone waiting for her husband to return home from a business trip. What was supposed to be a tear-soaked night turns into a surreal experience that will challenge our heroines view on life, death and family.

  • Marko Visković
    Director
    The Sacrifice
  • Erik Kyle Lončar
    Director
    Takeover, Nightfall
  • Marko Visković
    Writer
    The Sacrifice
  • Erik Kyle Lončar
    Writer
    Mono, Takeover
  • Erik Kyle Lončar
    Producer
    Mono, Nightfall
  • Ivana Visković Pavić
    Key Cast
    "Dolores"
    The Sacrifice
  • Markiša Visković
    Key Cast
    "Edvin"
    The Sacrifice
  • Sanja Pavić
    Key Cast
    "Hana"
    The Sacrifice
  • Dijana Šabić
    Key Cast
    Loveheit
  • Maja Divić
    Key Cast
    The Sacrifice
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    Dodir
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Genres:
    Psychological drama, Horror
  • Runtime:
    13 minutes 2 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    January 13, 2025
  • Production Budget:
    1,000 EUR
  • Country of Origin:
    Croatia
  • Country of Filming:
    Croatia
  • Language:
    Croatian
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Marko Visković, Erik Kyle Lončar

Marko Visković
Born in Croatia in 1988. Marko has been a movie maker since a very young age, but has just recently decided to invest more time into making something than surpasses the most basic homemade flicks. He plans on creating works that will explore mysterious, fantastical, horror and sci-fi themes within the frame of his hometown Tučepi and the surrounding area. The first movie he has decided to submit, Sacrifice (2021.) and The Touch (2025.) are good examples of this direction in filmmaking. He holds a Master's degree in German Language & Literature and Sociology.

Erik Kyle Lončar
Erik was Born in Zadar, Croatia 1982. He holds a Master's degree in History & Philosophy but his self-thought moviemaking skills have put him on the map. With more than ten years of directorial experience Erik was able to take part in making over 200 diverse projects that included short films, music videos and documentaries. For more than half a decade Erik has been a member of the Croatian Society of Film Critics. He lives and works in Split, Croatia.

Filmography (as a director):
2012 Mementorium
2012 Something borrowed, something blue
2012 Mystery of the Zadar Sea Organs
2013 Life’s a bitch
2013 Same laces/ different people
2014 Loveheit
2015 Specktrum
2016 Cara Ali, le Vampire
2017 Retromind
2017 Bremenita
2017 The Bleed
2018 Lica
2019 There is no spoom
2019 Un espace, deux minute, trois tems
2020 Takeover
2020 Mono
2020 Nightfall
2022 Creative
2022 Jae-Bot
2022 DisQuiet

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Director Statement

Some people are a permanent part of our being, psyche and reality. Even when they die, they are never truly gone. The movie tries to tap into these emotions and explore a transcendent connection between two sisters. Dolores, our main character is going through the hardest night of her life. She is trying to come to terms with the untimely and sudden passing of her sister, Hana. The immense grief summons Hana partially into this world and she tries to condole Dolores by passing napkins to her, but her sister does not notice this. Dolores's sorrow grows as she comes to the conclusion that perhaps she, as a physician, could have predicted the signs of Hana's impending stroke. This self-blame becomes the straw that breaks the camel’s back and Hanas’s spirit enters fully into our realm. Initially scared, Dolores manages to recognise her sister after she makes a typical hand gesture both of them used to make (two halves of a heart). The final, yet brief touch emphasises that Dolores understands that Hana will always be with her in a strange but comforting way.

The movie describes this special bond using the following methods:

1. Music – since sisterhood is one of the most basic and fundamental relationships that humans can have, two simple chords are being used in order to show how one sister is looking for the other the entire movie. Both chords are complementary and each of them requires the other for a harmonic follow up that only truly gets delivered during the final scene, when Dolores finally recognises Hana.

2. Items – First we have a black cup that is visible during most of the movie. It symbolises Hana and the many emotions that are flowing into her mind. When she sees an unclear figure behind the curtain the cup overflows symbolising her mental overload. Secondly, we have a Jenga tower that stands for Dolores’s eroding and finally collapsing emotional state. Thirdly, the pictures and the framed document: these tell us the story of Dolores's private life: show us that she is a family person, that she has a husband, that she and her sister used a heart shaped gesture on one of the photos (crucial for the last scene) and that Dolores is a Physician. Fourthly, mirrors – whether literal mirrors (bathroom), or surfaces with a similar effect (refrigerator, balcony door) or items that suggest a symmetry or dichotomy (half of a heart-shaped loaf of bread, cutting board decorated with drawn women’s heads, T-shirt with a partially doubled female head): all of these aim to show the connection these sisters share – they are like a reflection of each other, they’ve grown together and their lives are intertwined. Fifthly, electrical devices (TV/ smartphone): Hanas’s spirit is somehow able to tap into this kind of energy – this shows that Hana is trying everything in order to reach Dolores and comfort her.

3. Editing – showing one side of Dolores’s head next to one half of Hana’s in the final emphasises the mirroring mentioned under 2. and brings home the fact that the upcoming touch during the heart gesture will make both sisters feel whole again. The last scene is also a summary of the entire film, from inconsolable grief to bitter-sweet acceptance.