Following its debut at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), Sarra Tsorakidis’s first feature film, Ink Wash, premiered in Europe at the Warsaw Film Festival. The Romanian film, competing among other first and second feature films, received the FIPRESCI prize. Ink Wash centers on Lena, a painter in her late thirties, portrayed by Ilinca Harnut, who also contributed to the script.
In Bucharest, Lena is struggling to move on from a recent breakup, which has dimmed her hopes of having a child at an age where that dream becomes ever more fragile. She lives within the city’s urban arts scene, surrounded by fellow painters who flit between one exhibition opening and another. Her ex-boyfriend is still present, frequenting the same spaces with his new girlfriend, who is, as fate would have it, pregnant. From this initial setting in the Romanian capital, Ink Wash pivots into nature as Lena takes on a painting project for a hotel under construction, deep within a forest. This new job becomes a pause from her usual reality, a temporary respite from societal pressures. At the hotel site, her interactions are limited to a few workers and hotel management, creating space for introspection and solitude, punctuated by long walks in the wilderness. Here, Lena glimpses the possibility of a fresh start. She finds camaraderie with a young Syrian immigrant assisting her with the painting, and with her direct supervisor. Each relationship hinting at a potential new direction in her life, with subtle suggestions of romance and reinvention.
Sarra Tsorakidis constructs Lena’s experience through carefully framed shots, creatively using the hotel’s architecture to enclose her, then releasing her into the open forest. One of the film’s strongest elements is how it connects Lena to this building. The hotel is not entirely new but rather a renovation of an old structure, making something new out of the old, where only select portions will remain intact as the work will not be finished in time for the opening. This mirrors Lena’s inner world as she finds herself bound by the past yet yearning for a fresh beginning. The hotel’s large windows visually emphasize the contrast between the interior spaces and the surrounding nature, creating depth and layering within a single picture. Everything coexists within the same frame, the same place, and the same character, each extending into the other, and so on.
Beyond Lena’s personal narrative, Ink Wash offers a broader metaphor for Romania today: a country striving for progress but still hindered by the shadows of dictatorship and entrenched corruption. This national struggle finds a direct symbol in the hotel’s general manager, whose dubious judgments and unscrupulous practices reflect the persistent societal challenges.
With a gentle confidence, Ink Wash allows Ilinca Harnut the space to express Lena’s evolving emotions. Sarra Tsorakidis unfolds her story with apparent simplicity, yet layers it with subtle meaning that lingers well after the film ends. A promising debut from a director whose next steps will be eagerly awaited.
Léo Ortuno
Edited by Savina Petkova
© FIPRESCI 2024