PRODUCTION: Czech Documentary Filmmaker Veronika Lišková Shoots Debut Feature Year of the Widow

06-09-2023

PRODUCTION: Czech Documentary Filmmaker Veronika Lišková Shoots Debut Feature Year of the Widow

By Vojtěch Bohuslav

Pavla Beretová on set of Year of the Widow by Veronika Lišková credit: Cinémotif Films, Richard Hodonínský

PRAGUE: Czech director Veronika Lišková is currently in production with her debut feature Year of the Widow / Rok vdovy, which is a Czech/Slovak/Croatian coproduction. The screenplay, written by Lišková’s partner, screenwriter Eugen Liška, was inspired by a series of articles by Zuzana Pokorná, a diary like reflection of the first year of the author’s widowhood.

The film tells the story of 42 years old Petra, who faces the sudden death of her husband. What follows is not only grief, but also an overwhelming amount of bureaucracy that a person’s death nowadays brings: mortgages, loans, rents and inheritance proceedings. Petra has to navigate through all that in order to find a new beginning.

“I want to bring to the screen a realistic, intimate yet dramatic story with a strong cathartic message,” says Veronika Lišková.

Pavla Beretová, Julie Šoucová, Zuzana Kronerová and Tomáš Bambušek play the main characters.

Kristýna Michálek Květová and Tomáš Michálek are producing through Cinémotif Films (Czech Republic) in coproduction with Peter Kerekes and Anna Mach Rumanová through Kerekes Film (Slovakia) and Miljenka Čogelja through Pipser (Croatia).

“I think the story shows how strong a person can be, but also how important it is to allow yourself to be weak sometimes. We want to raise topics of mental health and self-care, which can still be perceived as weakness, especially by older generations,” producer Kristýna Michálek Květová told FNE.

So far, the project has been backed by the Czech Film Fund, the Slovak Audiovisual Fund, the Croatian Audiovisual Centre, as well as the Czech regions of Pilsen and Ústínad Labem, where the shooting takes place. The producers are still looking for financiers.

The production is planned for 30 days and it is divided into four stages throughout the year 2023, as the story takes place during all four seasons. The summer part of the shooting has been wrapped up and while waiting for the next one, the director Veronika Lišková and the editor Hedvika Hansalová have already begun the editing process. The production is set to be finished in the spring/summer of 2024.

Year of the Widow will be distributed by CinemArt in the Czech Republic, Filmtopia in Slovakia and Hulahop in Croatia.

Production Information:

Producer:
Cinémotif Films (Czech Republic)
Kristýna Michálek Květová: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Coproducers:
Kerekes Film (Slovakia)
Pipser (Croatia)

Credits:
Director: Veronika Lišková
Scriptwriter: Eugen Liška
DoP: Dušan Husár
Editor: Hedvika Hansalová
Main cast: Pavla Beretová, Julie Šoucová, Zuzana Kronerová, Tomáš Bambušek

Published in Czech Republic