Second Law of Thermodynamics
Date:
January 15, 2023
Second Law of Thermodynamics
Logline
In Second Law of Thermodynamics two architects’ hidden love faces seismic tests when a career opportunity and a literal earthquake force them to confront their true desires.
Synopsis
Egon (27) is a young, ambitious, and openly gay architect in a secret
relationship with his boss—charming and successful but closeted,
Marko (45). While their relationship seems perfect in the privacy of
their own home, Egon wants to make it public, feeling that it’s unnecessary to hide in this day and age. Marko urges him to keep it
as it is, saying that there is a big promotion coming up, and it would
hurt Egon’s chances if people found out about them being a couple. When the promotion goes to someone else, Egon is forced to
choose between his pride and his career.
Author’s Note
While this film isn’t in any way an autobiography, it draws a lot from my personal experience as a gay individual living in Croatia. While at first it may seem that being gay isn’t a big deal anymore, my experience is a bit different. The fear of rejection is omnipresent, and it is something that follows LGBTQ+ people as they age and the society becomes more accepting. The main character of my film is Egon (27), an openly gay man who’s in a secret relationship with Marko (45), who grew up in a world that was less accepting of homosexuality and still suffers from a lingering fear of rejection that he might face for simply being gay. While this is not the main conflict of my film it is what lies at the core of my characters and what causes them to be the way they are. I would not characterize this as a primarily LGBTQ+ film, the focus is not on coming out but rather I would call it a relationship drama. Homosexuality of my character is a given fact, and while it gives them additional depth and affects them respectively in different ways the main conflict doesn’t revolve around accepting one’s homosexuality, but rather around what type of relationship are we willing to accept. This is why Egon is forced to choose between his pride (coming out with his relationship in public, or his need to do so) and advancing his career, rather than struggling with opening about his sexuality which is something he, unlike Marko, did a long time ago.
Company Profile
Digital Cinema Environment (DCE) was established in 2013 as a post-production studio, initially specializing in delivering high-quality image post-production services for film and television projects. In 2020, DCE expanded its services into film and video content production. The company’s current focus revolves around collaborating with emerging, upcoming filmmakers of the younger generation in order to form a new creative wave in the regional film industry.
The company currently has several projects in various production stages, including “The Second Law of Thermodynamics” by Jozo Schmuch (short fiction), the experimental film “Panic” by Sara Grgurić — winner of the Nest Award at San Sebastian, and “The Grand Finale” by Luka Galešić (short fiction), which has just entered its post-production phase. All of them have received support from the Croatian National Film Centre.