The Exchange – 2020

The Exchange, a film by Eran Kolirin, premiered at the 2011 Venice Film Festival and has been a source of much discussion and controversy ever since. A remake of the film, edited by the director last year, will be screened at the upcoming Festival, giving us another opportunity to become acquainted with this strange and entertaining work.

 

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Director's remarks: 

“Towards the end my work onThe Exchange, during one of those moments of anxiety that creep up on directors at the final stages of their work, the late Gil Toren told me that in a way, a movie is a like a photograph of your emotional state at that given point, and you just have to accept it.”

"It's like the scene shot at the beginning of The Band’s Visit,”he said. “You prepare and prepare, and the minute you press the button, life enters the frame…and the picture comes out exactly as it was that moment.” Flawed, damaged, or perfect. It comes out exactly the way it is, because at that moment, it can't come out any other way. Many things that Gil said provided truth and comfort. He knew how to appease others at difficult moments. Alternately, the fatalistic finality of his words are also difficult for me to accept. We all continue to evolve and change over the years. Why are these works doomed to remain frozen in time? 

“Over the past few months, while I was locked at home and the pandemic raged outside, I started to play around with The Exchange; I edited the materials, I added music, I laughed a lot, and enjoyed myself very much.” 

“This is not the director’s cut. Every film is a director’s cut. This is what was available at that very moment. The Exchange is a film about the opportunity of looking at things again and that opportunity always exists.”

I would like to dedicate this screening to the memory of my friend, Gil Toren.