Absent
The second feature by Marco Berger, Absent (Ausente) offers a provocative twist on a familiar scenario -- exploring the complex relationship between an under-aged boy's sexual desires and the reaction of the desired adult in an atmosphere of sexual tension and growing menace. Part thriller, part psychological drama, Absent sets out to analyse the nature of desire and human behaviour when facing such a confusing and precarious situation.
Teenager Martin hurts his eye during a swimming class, and his PT instructor, Sebastian, takes him to hospital. On leaving, Martin insists it would be better to stay at Sebastian's overnight. But as he takes charge of the student, Sebastian is dangerously unaware of the boy's true intentions: that Martin has engineered the entire situation in order to stay at his instructor's home...
Plan B
Set in Buenos Aires, this witty, beguiling feature by Argentinian-born director Marco Berger (The Watch) masquerades as a familiar romantic comedy, only to confound expectations by testing the boundaries of gender and social demarcations. In so doing, the film invites us to explore contemporary ideas of freedom and desire, and to question what it means to play with love. Plan B is Marco Berger's first feature film, and was presented at the BFI London Lesbian & Gay Film Festival, being only one of a small selection of festival films to then be taken on tour. It was also presented at the 11th BAFICI in Buenos Aires in March 2009.
