(Printed with the demonstration version of Fade In)

TIED

Written by

Lilith Föhn and Kirill Gromadko

Copyright (c) 2021

(Printed with the demonstration version of Fade In)

1. INT. MAN'S APARTMENT - DAY

MAN is in his twenties, wearing white socks and regular

slippers. He sits awkwardly on a chair, his legs crossed in
a reserved and closed off way. He's talking over the phone.
Only his feet are visible.

MAN
So... I guess we're gonna meet at
19.00, right?

2. INT. WOMAN'S APARTMENT - CONTINUOUS

WOMAN is in her twenties, wearing a black dress and her toe

nails tinted in bright red. She's walking in her apartment.
Only her feet are visible.

WOMAN
Sure, didn't we discuss this earlier?

INTERCUT MAN/WOMAN

MAN
Yeah, just wanted to make sure... And
do you know how to reach the
restaurant? Do you need a lift?

Woman is at the entrance, she puts her heel sandals on.

WOMAN
Don't worry, I've been there before.

MAN
Oh... Right, see you soon then, at
19.00!

Woman opens the door.

WOMAN
Sure, at 19.00.

Woman gets out and closes the door.

CUT TO BLACK

3. INT. WOMAN'S APARTMENT'S ENTRANCE - NIGHT

It's completely dark. Suddenly the door opens, shining light

into the apartment.
(Printed with the demonstration version of Fade In)
2.

Woman and Man burst inside, kissing and touching each other
passionately. Man's wearing dark Oxfords and white dress
pants.

Woman switches the light on and takes her heel sandals off.

WOMAN
Make yourself at home, I'll be back
in a moment.

Woman goes into the bathroom and closes the door behind her.

Man reaches down to untie his laces. He pulls one string but
accidentally makes the knot tighter. He pulls the other one:
his laces are tied even harder now. He tries to untie the
knot. He stops and takes a brief break. He reaches the other
shoe and tries to untie the laces: he accidentally ties the
knot as hard as the other one too. He stands up, annoyed.
With one foot he pushes hard against the shoe on the other
foot: it won't come off. He does the same to the other shoe:
still nothing.

Man sees a shoehorn next to him. He takes it and tries to

take his shoes off with it, unsuccessfully. He tries to push
his feet out by putting the shoehorn on all sides of the
shoe. Inadvertently, he pushes so hard that the shoehorn
breaks. He freaks out and tries to find a place to hide the
broken shoehorn, he puts it in the dresser/behind the shoe
stand. He checks the bathroom door: it's closed and there's
still light underneath, Woman is still there.

Man pulls a tiny Swiss army knife out of his jacket's

pocket. He uses all of the tools in it to cut the shoe
laces: he tries to rip them apart with the scissors and the
little knife and he tries to cut them with the nail file.
All of that in vain, the shoe laces are still intact.

He puts his Swiss army knife back in his pocket. He has to

find other tools to take his shoes off. He takes one step
onto the floor, outside the carpet at the entrance of the
apartment. When he lifts up his shoe, it leaves some dirt.
Man kneels down and walks towards the next room on his
knees, so to not soil the floor.

4. INT. WOMAN'S KITCHEN - CONTINUOUS

Man stands up. He looks around and takes a long metal spoon
from the kitchen counter. He puts it in the heel of one of
his shoes, trying to use it as if it's a shoehorn. His foot
doesn't come out but he bends the spoon. He puts it back on
the kitchen counter. He looks around again and searches
through the drawers.
(Printed with the demonstration version of Fade In)
3.

He finds nothing there, so he picks up a butter knife from

the kitchen counter. He saws his laces as hard as he can,
achieving nothing. He puts it back.

He takes a break.

He searches through his pockets again and finds a lighter.

He carefully approaches with it towards his shoe laces, but
while starting to burn them he holds the lighter in such a
way that the flame burns his thumb. He drops the lighter in
pain.

He reaches the sink and holds his hand under the cold water.
He stops. He kneels down holding a block of wet soap. He
rubs it onto the laces and tries to loosen them. It doesn't
work, he angrily puts the soap onto the floor and steps
forward to look if Woman is still in the bathroom. He jumps
over the soap but doesn't notice the door sill right in
front of him and falls hard onto the ground.

He immediately looks at the bathroom door to check if

Woman's still there: the door is still closed, there's still
light in the room.

Man carefully and silently moves back into the kitchen,

trying to avoid making any further noise. He lies on his
back and lifts his feet above him. He pushes hard with both
hands against the shoes in the air, unsuccessfully. He stops
and sits down, disappointed.

He stands up and fills a glass with water. His hands are

soapy and slippery so he inadvertently drops it onto the
floor, breaking it into a thousand pieces. Shocked, he
desperately tries to gather them and clean the mess.

Woman calls Man from the bathroom:

WOMAN
Is everything fine out there?

MAN
Yeah yeah, don't worry!

Man accidentally injures his finger because of the broken

glass. The wound is tiny, it's unnoticeable and there's no
blood, but Man picks a patch from his pocket and places it
onto his finger.

He goes into the living room to find a broom.

(Printed with the demonstration version of Fade In)
4.

5. INT. WOMAN'S LIVING ROOM - CONTINUOUS

The living room is clean and welcoming.

Man looks around and finds a little broom with a dustpan. He

picks them up but when he's about to head back into the
kitchen he stops. He tries to use them to take his shoes
off. Something else distracts him: an umbrella. Then he
finds an action figure, then a flute and a saxophone. At the
end of it all, he stops in front of something that's out of
frame, impressed.

A katana lying on a little table is suddenly revealed. He

picks it up, we hear the noise of the sword coming out of
its scabbard. Man lowers it down, his hands slightly shaking
nervously.

Suddenly he turns around, taken aback by the sound of a door

opening behind him: it's the bathroom door. Woman stands
right at the entrance, undressed. Man barely manages to put
the katana back into its scabbard. It stands precariously
besides him. As soon as he sees Woman, the katana falls onto
the ground.

6. INT. WOMAN'S BEDROOM - CONTINUOUS

Man and Woman burst into the bedroom kissing, touching

passionately and undressing. Woman unbuttons Man's shirt, it
falls onto the ground. Woman opens the belt on his pants and
throws it away. She lowers his pants but stops at his feet:
he's still wearing shoes.

WOMAN
Why didn't you take them off?

Silence. Man stands still, embarrassed. Woman stands up and

backs off. She sits onto the bed, watching him impatiently.
Man hesitantly tries to take his pants off without taking
his shoes off. His pants get stuck because of the shoes. He
tears them, pulls them as hard as he can. He frees one leg.
He precariously stands on one foot trying to take the other
part of his pants out, almost falling. After trying a few
times he decides to sit down onto the floor. Woman is still
watching him, sitting still, her legs crossed. Man is
strongly tearing his pants out of his leg, helping himself
with the other foot. He manages to take his pants off,
finally. He stands up quickly, proud of himself.

Woman still sits on the bed, looking at Man. He gets closer

to her, he wants to continue where they left off. Before he
reaches Woman, she pulls him away by pushing with her foot
onto his leg. He steps back again.
(Printed with the demonstration version of Fade In)
5.

He reaches his shoes, demotivated. He tries to untie the

laces, with little effort. He gives up.

MAN
I'm sorry.

Woman sits still. She stands up and walks towards him. She
kneels down and takes one of the laces on one of Man's
shoes. She pulls it gently, with little effort. It unties
easily. She steps back.

Man stands still, impressed. He reaches his shoes and tries

to untie the other laces: he manages to do it as
effortlessly as Woman did. He takes his shoes off and
carefully puts his socks inside them. He slowly goes to
Woman, they touch each other carefully, very conscious and
aware of every single action. They get onto the bed, with
ease. They continue where they left off beforehand, quietly.
The credits start rolling.

FADE OUT

AFTER CREDITS SCENE:

INT. WOMAN'S BEDROOM - MORNING

Man and Woman are lying on the bed. Woman gets up and exits
the room. Suddenly, she screams:

WOMAN
What the hell happened to my
kitchen?!?

Man wakes up, startled.

THE END