IVAN
Working title - Feature narrative in production
A fugitive gunsmith hides in a vast Eastern European landfill, surviving through strict control and isolation. When he becomes responsible for a stray dog, every act of care risks exposing him to the world he is trying to escape.
ABOUT
IVAN follows a gunsmith forced into hiding after surviving an assassination attempt. While fleeing, he steals his attacker’s car and discovers a stray dog locked in the trunk.Determined to disappear completely, he retreats to a vast landfill on the edge of Eastern Europe, where scrap metal is currency and survival depends on remaining unseen. His single objective is invisibility. Ivan rebuilds his life around strict control: measured routines, minimal contact, total isolation. Every action is deliberate. Every risk calculated.The dog complicates that system. It needs food, warmth, presence. Providing for it requires trade. Trade requires visibility.In a landscape shaped by scarcity and quiet threat, each act of care exposes him. As resources diminish, the order that once protected him begins to fracture.The film ultimately explores the limits of control when a man who has erased himself is confronted with the unavoidable responsibility of caring for another living being.
Thematic Spine
IVAN explores self-imposed isolation as a way of coping with a world that feels unstable and overwhelming. Our protagonist builds his life around structure and control. He limits contact. He avoids risk. He believes that if he can reduce unpredictability, he can remain safe.
His system works. Until it doesn’t.When a stray dog becomes dependent on him, control is no longer enough. Care demands presence. Presence demands exposure. The more he provides, the more visible he becomes.
In a time when many retreat into controlled, filtered spaces to manage anxiety and uncertainty, Ivan’s logic feels familiar. The film asks a simple but uncomfortable question: Is safety worth the cost of isolation? And what are we prepared to risk in order to truly connect?
POSITIONING
IVAN positions itself within contemporary European arthouse cinema, closest in spirit to Leviathan in its stark industrial landscape and its slow moral erosion of a man under pressure rather than plot-driven spectacle. It rejects conventional thriller mechanics in favor of emotional austerity and environmental tension, following a solitary figure whose rigid system of control gradually collapses under the burden of caring for another life.The film is aimed at major festival platforms and audiences drawn to uncompromising, character-driven survival dramas with an existential edge.
STATUS
— Feature film (approx. 85 minutes)
— Developed and produced in stages
— 50 minutes completed.
— Remaining material currently in production
— Seeking final financing to complete the film
Production Approach
IVAN was shot in stages over an extended period, integrating real time into the performances. The actors’ physical and emotional evolution becomes part of the narrative itself. This phased production model allowed us to manage resources carefully while maintaining full creative continuity. Though produced in chapters, the final film unfolds as a seamless, unified work.
IVAN'S WORLD
Selected images from the 50 minutes already completed
KEY PEOPLE
Writer & Director: Iliès Terki
Lead Actor: Daniel Thomas
Cinematography: Timmi Kwaku Davis
Production Design: Nico Krüger
Music Score: Christoph Klinger
Sound Mixer: Walter Laguerre
VFX: Philippe Maron
Production: IDLE FILMS
NEXT STEPS
IVAN is in production. We are currently speaking with producers and partners to support the final stage of financing and completion.
For a work-in-progress link and full financial details, contact:ILIÈS TERKI
+49 171 3683869
[email protected]
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