Ten Buildings Away

Directed by Miki Polonski

Cinéfondation, Festival de Cannes 2015

“Ten Buildings Away is my final project to complete my studies at The Minshar for Art School. My film is a about people surrounded by buildings and windows, trying to live the human loneliness. It’s a story about my family; the way we drifted apart. The relationship between my parents affected the relationship between my brother and I. The film is about pain passing  through a family.” – director Miki Polonski

GFM:
When watching the film I get the sense that this is a personal, autobiographical project, and the main character of Daniel was on you and your experiences. How did you come to the decision to use something so personal in your art?

Miki:
It was a long process thinking about dealing with this issue. When I started to study cinema and films, I think it’s just something that I couldn’t run away from. It was too close to me. I didn’t make the decision to create this story about myself, it just came out very naturally. I sat at home and wrote the script in two nights. While working on the film, It felt like those emotions were finally fading out.

GFM:
The game the children in the film were playing when they were running in the traffic is an interesting story device to create tension and danger. Does that game really exist?

Miki:
It really does exists. We used to lay down on the road waiting for cars to pass, then get up and run. I think that when you grow up in small communities, surrounded by nothing, the daily routine can be very frustrating. You try not to stay at home for too long, you search for adventures and risks to make moments more meaningful and exciting, which fills you up and lets another day pass by.

GFM:
What are your thoughts on the strong Israeli presence at Cannes this year. In addition to Ten Buildings Away, Ronit Elkabetz is going to be the President of the Critics Week, and there will be a special screening of Natalie Portman’s film A Tale Of Love And Darkness.

Miki:
I think that In the last couple of years there has been a significant development in Israeli filmmaking. Ronit Elkabetz Is definitely a part of this evolution. There are a lot of films that have come out recently that have had a universal meaning and don’t necessarily have a language that is political.

GFM:
What are you working on next?

Miki:
At the moment I’ve just finished working on two films. Beside Ten Buildings Away, I created a documentary film about public housing in Israel, which was selected to the student competition of Docaviv film festival. These days I’m working on a script for a feature film.