NEWS Deserted in Production

From Desert

Director Kadri Kõusaar is working on her newest film Deserted, which was shot in Jordan. The film with a budget over 1 million euros, is currently in the final stages of postproduction. The modern hostage drama is a co-production between Estonia, Finland, and Sweden.

By Maria Ulfsak Photos by Kadri Kõusaar

This is a film about an allconquering love between people from completely different cultural backgrounds who find each other in the desert. It is in the desert where the soul becomes naked and what really matters comes to the surface,” describes Kadri Kõusaar.

According to the main producer of Deserted, Aet Laigu, they started working on Kõusaar’s fourth film over eight years ago, and were ready to go into production in spring 2020, when the pandemic stopped everything. “Set to be shot in Jordan, which went into full military lockdown, we couldn’t do anything but wait, at the same time being in fullreadiness to board the plane, whenever the borders opened. In reality, after every two weeks we had to reevaluate the situation, and finally at the end of October 2020 we could fly. Meanwhile, we lost about 30% of our budget. On the one hand, the six months postponement and the emergency situation caused some expenses to increase, and on the other hand, we lost most of the market money. Luckily, the Estonian Government came to the rescue and provided crisisfunding for productions affected by the pandemic. We’ve successfully completed the shoot, and are in the very final stages of postproduction and up for international sales and festival premiere,” says the producer.

The main character of the film is a Swedish photo journalist Ingrid (Frida Westerdahl). On an assignment to the abandoned, lawless, and apocalyptic Sinai coast, she is kidnapped by a gang of Pales

The shooting of Deserted took place in exotic Jordan. From the left: actor Ali Suliman, director Kadri Kõusaar and actress Frida Westerdahl.

From Desert With Love

tinian men and hidden in the desert. Soon Ingrid finds herself falling in love with the most sympathetic of the abductors, Ali (Ali Suliman). Ali’s boss Moussa suspects that something is going on and becomes increasingly dangerous and violent.

The script, a very personal one for Kadri Kõusaar, who has always been very interested in Middle Eastern culture, is written by the director herself with Leana Jalukse. The cinematographer of Deserted is StenJohan Lill, the editor is Menni Renvall, and the composer is BJ Nilsen. The main production company of the project is Meteoriit OÜ, the coproducers are Charlotte Most & Maria Larsson Guerpillon from MostAlice Film AB (Sweden), and Merja Ritola & Essi Haukkamaa from Greenlit Productions OY (Finland). EF