On June 22, INHALE-EXHALE, the Golden Goblet Awards Competition Film which was co-produced by Georgian, Russia and Sweden was screened in Shanghai Film Art Center. Director Dito Tsintsadze, actress Salome Demuria and other main creators attended the after-screening meeting to share their experience in creating the film.
Irina, the heroine of the film, was 37 years old when she was released from prison. When she returned to her home after a long absence, she found that her family had changed. Her mother\'s legs were numb, her husband became more irritable, and her daughter ignored herself as if she were a stranger. Irina tries to find work, make friends, and reintegrate into society in a variety of ways, only to suffer endless setbacks. The title of INHALE-EXHALE is derived from yoga\'s way of breathing to relax body and mind. It seems to be an outlet for people to face the pressure of life, but in fact, it is the director\'s irony way of the whole society only stays in the form of care for the released prisoners and lacks of substantive help.
At the meeting, director Dito Tsintsadze acknowledged that the overall tone of the film was a little somber and the ending was unhappy. He said, "In fact, this is the reality of the society. A lot of times, when people face these marginal people, they want to offer a help, but they may worry about getting into trouble and withdraw their hand." Just like the family in the movie, before the accident, Irina lived a close family actually, but when Irina came back, everyone was indifferent to her. He said, "They don\'t understand Irina and they can\'t understand her. It\'s a tragedy. Irina could not get the warmth and love from her family, which gave her loss and indifference. But actually, everyone craves love, and love is missing from the movie."
Speaking of the title about "Inhale-exhale", the director explained that breathing is something everyone must do in order to survive, but the reality in the movie is suffocating. He said, "The title is a bit ironic, because there\'s no air in the movie, and Irina\'s state after she gets out is not so different from what she was in prison. She\'s still like a walking dead." Therefore, he hopes that through this work, "people\'s conception will be changed. It would be nice if people could be kind to each other after watching INHALE-EXHALE and be kind to \'oxygen supply\' from others in the world."
Salome Demuria, who acts as Irina, has a wonderful performance in the film. She thinks Irina is a difficult role, and the experience of playing this role "changed my life forever", "I can feel the intolerance Irina suffered. I hope I can make some changes in the future and better understand some social phenomena, because after playing Irina, I deeply feel that intolerance is the worst thing in society."