07/12/2021 - Tomasz Wiński is putting the finishing touches to the psychological drama, which examines hidden needs, desires and the limits of freedom

Hana Vágnerová and Matyáš Řezníček in Borders of Love (© One Way Ticket Films)

Polish-born, Czech-based filmmaker and producer Tomasz Wiński is finalising his long-awaited feature-length debut, Borders of Love [+see also:
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interview: Tomasz Wiński
film profile]. Wiński’s previous short film George the Dog, Refugee examined the power dynamics when two girls find a man willing to pretend to be a dog in their presence. However, the BDSM-inspired story explored the boundaries of freedom and the fine line between that and destructive behaviour. Wiński’s first feature expands on this topic while adhering to an equally provocative premise. After Hana and Petr start facing a crisis in their marriage, they decide to remedy the situation by opening up their relationship. The only stipulation is that they must both remain entirely honest, including telling the other person all of the details of their new sexual escapades. The couple’s social experiment soon turns into a power struggle.

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“We are interested in the subject because we are all discussing monogamy, infidelity, sexual fantasies, the limits of freedom in a relationship, what must be sacrificed, what the boundaries of relationships are, and whether these boundaries can be negotiated. That’s what fascinated us,” says Wiński, who has been working on the project with Czech actress Hana Vágnerová, starring as one half of the central couple. When pledging its support for the project, the Czech Film Fund stated that Borders of Love “extends the variety of Czech cinema with an uncompromising kind of relationship drama that has not been made in Czech film before”. In addition to polyamory, other configurations of non-monogamous partnerships, such as the swingers’ lifestyle, foursomes and threesomes, will make an appearance. However, the drama focuses on the psychology of sex, rather than on the sex itself. The director emphasises the fact that Borders of Love is not “porn; it is a poetically refined drama that is not perverse, but a magical story examining hidden desires and needs”.

Hana Vágnerová (Lost in Paradise [+see also:
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interview: Štepán Altrichter
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film profile]) and Eliška Křenková (Bird Atlas [+see also:
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interview: Olmo Omerzu
film profile]). The film is in the last leg of post-production, as Wiński is finishing the colour grading and the sound mix. The final version of the movie will be ready in May 2022.

Borders of Love is being produced by endorfilm and Wiński’s own outfit, One Way Ticket Films, and co-produced by Pink Production and Czech Television. The Czech Film Fund has supported the project. The film does not yet have a sales agent on board.