IN FLOW OF WORDS follows the narratives of three interpreters of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. They interpreted shocking testimonies from witnesses, victims and perpetrators, without ever allowing their own emotions, feelings and personal histories to be present. Contrary to their position at the tribunal, this film places their voices and experiences center stage.

Direction: Eliane Esther Bots

Script: Eliane Esther Bots

Production: Manon Bovenkerk

Cinematography: Daniel Donato

Editing: Esther Eliane Bots

Sound: Sergio Gonzalez Cuervo

Original Title: IN FLOW OF WORDS

Original Languages: Bosnian, Croatian, English, Serbian

Film Production Country: Netherlands

Statement of the Director/s
IN FLOW OF WORDS is a short experimental film about the piercing experiences of three interpreters of the Yugoslavia Tribunal in The Hague and their position as a channel between speakers and listeners, witnesses and defendants, judges and attendees.

The interpreters I work with in IN FLOW OF WORDS are born and raised in former Yugoslavia and lived through the war in the 90’s. They find themselves in the surreal position of having their own memories and emotions confronted with the narratives from opposite sides of the conflict: those of the people accused of war crimes, and those of the victims with whom they can identify as countrymen.

The Tribunal, the courtroom and the fact-finding missions are rigorously designed sites defined by strict rules, rituals and costumes. Every participant has to play his part as neutrally and objectively as possible so that the conflict can be presented in the courtroom in a ‘linguistic’, controlled, civilised form. The interpreters have to align the erratic process of interpretation with the rules that apply in the arena of the Tribunal.

The film focuses on the contrast between the emotional and physical impact of the dramatic stories that the interpreters have to deal with on the one hand, and the controlled and neutral environment of the Tribunal and its missions in which these narratives get retold on the other.

In the interpretation process, the interpreters have to be simultaneously present and absent: to be visibly neutral yet as invisible as possible, to get close to those involved yet keep their distance, to speak out yet be silent. They have to deal with the contrast between their inner turmoil and what they are allowed to show on the outside. They find themselves in a position in which they are transformed into human machines.

Biography of the Director/s
Eliane Esther Bots (1986, The Netherlands) graduated cum laude from the Master of Film at the Netherlands Film Academy in Amsterdam. Her films have been screened at IDFA, Berlinale, Cinema du Reel, New York Film Festival, International Short Film Festival Oberhausen, Go Short and Kassel Dokfest. She works as a lecturer for ‘Moving image’ at the University of the Arts in Utrecht.

Filmography of the Director/s
2021 - IN FLOW OF WORDS
2020 - THE CHANNEL
2019 - CLOUD FOREST
2017 - THE BRICK HOUSE
2015 - WE CAN'T COME FROM NOTHING
2014 - CONVERSATIONS
2013 - THE VISIONARY
2012 - THE DOME & THE CONE OF SILENCE
2012 - THE CAPTAIN AND THE BOY
2011 - GULO

Awards Won
1. Locarno Film Festival, Switzerland (4 - 14 August, 2021)
Pardi di Domani Won: Best Direction Prize – BONALUMI Engineering & Short Film candidate for the European Film Awards

Production Company:
near / by film
Manon Bovenkerk
Van Hogendorpstraat 15E
The Hague, 2515 NR , Netherlands
E-Mail: [email protected]
Phone: +31 618434917
Website: http://www.nearbyfilm.com/

World Sales:
Square Eyes
Wouter Jansen
Lindengasse 31-33/3/2
Vienna, 1070, Austria
E-Mail: [email protected]
Phone: 0043 6609805377
Website: http://www.squareeyesfilm.com/

Press:
Square Eyes
Wouter Jansen
Lindengasse 31-33/3/2
Vienna, 1070, Austria
E-Mail: [email protected]
Phone: 0043 6609805377
Website: http://www.squareeyesfilm.com/