HARDSUB

SYNOPSIS

Amir, an immigrant who has been living in Ukraine for a long time, works as a translator. He is trying to save his relationship with his little daughter after a complicated divorce. Living through the identity crisis, he is lost in a whirl of one-night stands and parties. Anticipating war, his ex-wife is taking their daughter to Europe. Amir is forced to a speedy decision: should he stay, go back to his motherland, or become an immigrant all over again.

AMOUNT OF THE SUPPORT FOR DEVELOPMENT: 37 500 €

Date of the decision : December 11th 2023

AMOUNT OF THE SUPPORT FOR PRODUCTION: 150 000 €

Date of the decision : January 27th, 2025

Novruz Hikmet was born in Baku, Azerbaijan. In 2010 graduated Azerbaijan State University of Culture and Arts, speciality “film director”, and went on to live and work in the film industry in Kyiv. He directed independent short films, which were screened at international festivals. As the 1st AD, he shot several feature films that have been screened and honored at “A” class festivals. Since 2015, Novruz has been an active member of the organization “Contemporary Ukrainian Cinema” and works in its program department. He has been a member of the Ukrainian Film Academy since 2023. During the second month of a full-scale war in Ukraine, he co-directed the fiction short film It is quiet here, which premiered at Sarajevo Film Festival. He also performed as an actor in one of the main roles of the feature film La Palisiada, which won the FIPRESCI prize in the main competition program of the Rotterdam Film Festival in 2023. In the same year, as a director, he participated in the Sarajevo Talents program. Hard Sub, his feature-length debut, has received development support from “Talentpaket”-Funding Hessen Film & Medien.