Loneliness Echoes: Film Explores Digital Connection's Cost

Director Urša Menart's "Everything That's Wrong With You" world-premiered at the Sarajevo Film Festival, exploring the complexities of human connection in the digital age. The film was conceived before the COVID-19 pandemic, inspired by young women creating fictional tragic online narratives to gain attention and the peculiar phenomenon of followers visiting these micro-influencers.

The narrative centers on Maruša, a young Slovenian woman grappling with grief and displacement after returning from Berlin. She develops a profound friendship with Alja, a nurse in Germany, a connection that faces its ultimate test when they meet in person. Menart was drawn to the audience's deep engagement with online personas, a fascination amplified by her own experiences with loneliness during the pandemic and first-time motherhood.

Menart's seven-year journey to bring the film to fruition involved extensive research and navigating Slovenia's lengthy production processes. She observed how advancements in artificial intelligence have intensified discussions on loneliness and the critical need for authentic human bonds. The film critically examines the pressures on young women, including caregiving, societal expectations for relationships and children, and the hypersexualized landscape of online dating.

Casting Anuša Kodelja as Maruša and Klara Kuk as Alja was pivotal. The director aimed for authenticity, seeking actors from Slovenia whose language proficiency was crucial. An unexpected twist occurred when the lead actors submitted tapes for the opposing roles, revealing to Menart that they each possessed qualities that would enrich the characters. She spent a year developing the characters with the actors, refining the script.

The film's visual landscape was carefully considered, with Alja's German seaside town location chosen for its flat, open terrain, contrasting sharply with Maruša's home environment. Despite Heringsdorf's limitations as a tourist town for production, the minimal equipment and agile approach suited the intimate, small-scale nature of the story. The cinematography aimed to capture the raw intimacy of the characters' close relationship.

Presented in Sarajevo, a city Menart describes as a "joyful high school reunion" for the region, the film's premiere signifies a homecoming of sorts. "Everything That's Wrong With You" is a testament to the collaborative efforts of production companies from Slovenia, Germany, Serbia, and the support of various film centers and funding bodies, underscoring the international nature of its creation.