YEAR OF THE WIDOW by Veronika Liskova is in production

In Production and in Post-production August 2023

In production

COME BACK by Jan and Raf Roosens, co-producers: EAVE graduates Jacques-Henri Bronckart, Ellen Havenith is in production. The coming-of-age tale centers on the character of Ava, a young woman of 14 who is attempting to find where she belongs in the world. She is "bedazzled" by the spotlight trained on her parents, a couple of DJs who have had their moment of glory. Now they are divorced, and Ava lives alone with her father. When her mum, Naomi, tries to make a comeback on the international DJing scene, Ava will discover a new world – that of nightlife and clubs. But while her mother is in her element, things are more complicated for Ava, who will have to adapt if she wants to avoid losing her own identity. The movie is being produced by Bart Van Langendonck for Savage Film, and co-produced by Jacques-Henri Bronckart for Versus Productions (Belgium), as well as by Rococo, the directors’ own outfit, and Ellen Havenith for PRPL (Netherlands). It has received backing from the Flanders Audiovisual Fund, screen.brussels, the Tax Shelter and Shelter Prod, as well as from Antwerp Film Bonus and the Netherlands Film Fund.

YEAR OF THE WIDOW by Veronika Liskova, producers: EAVE graduates Miljenka Cogelja, Tomas Michalek is in production. Stemming from a diary-esque article by Zuzana Pokorna, the narrative intimately charts her initial twelve months of widowhood. YEAR OF THE WIDOW traces the journey of Petra, thrust into an unanticipated world of grief following the sudden loss of her partner. More than grappling with her personal anxiety, she must contend with a labyrinth of bureaucratic hurdles reminiscent of a Kafkaesque nightmare. Presented from Petra’s perspective, the film explores the immediate emotional aftermath of loss, further complicated by the maze of social norms and legal proceedings she must traverse. Thus, the psychological drama morphs into a poignant societal commentary on grief, survival, and death in today’s world. The film captures the transformative narrative of a young widow reconstructing her life after the death of her partner and discovering newfound independence. Year of the Widow is produced by Kristyna Michalek Kvetova and EAVE graduate Tomas Michalek from the Czech outfit Cinémotif Films, Peter Kerekes and Anna Mach Rumanova of Kerekesfilm (Slovakia) and EAVE graduate Croatian producer Miljenka Cogelja of Pipser. The Czech Film Fund, the Slovak Audiovisual Fund, and the Croatian Audiovisual Centre, as well as the Czech regions of Pilsen and Usti, supported the film.

KLAUS AND BARROSO by Bogdan Theodor Olteanu, producer: EAVE graduate Anda Ionescu is in production. The script written by Adrian Nicolae, Cosmin „Micutzu” Nedelcu and Bogdan Theodor Olteanu follows a bartender who, being forced to urgently return some money, convinces his bodyguard brother to organise a bachelor party without his bosses’ permission. Bold Film Studio is producing in co-production with Romanian companies Grupa B, Tangaj Production and Avanpost Media. The film is an independent project supported by several companies: MediaCom, Mindshare, Wavemaker, Neumarkt, Pepsi, Lays, Dentsu Romania, Ursus, Caii de la Letea, Sameday and Presto.

In post-production

REINE MÈRE by Manele Libadi, co-producer: EAVE graduate Jean-Yves Roubin is in post-production. Blending social chronicle and bittersweet comedy, REINE MÈRE paints the portrait of a Tunisian family living in France in the early 1990s and uses comedy to explore questions such as the search for identity, generational conflicts and latent racism in France. Penned by the director, the story revolves around Amel and his family who learn, one day, that their landlord wishes to take back his apartment within a few months’ time. As his eldest daughter Mouna starts to have visions of Charles Martel and their application for a new socially-funded home drags on, Amel has no other choice but to reinvent himself… REINE MÈRE is produced by Jean-Christophe Reymond on behalf of Kazak Productions, in co-production with Arte France Cinéma, and by Belgium’s Frakas Productions. Pre-purchased by Arte, Canal+, Amazon Prime Video, RTBF and Proximus, the feature film is likewise supported by the Ile-de-France and Grand Est regions (where the film was shot in its entirety, commencing 12 June), the Eurometropolis of Strasbourg and the Wallonia-Brussels Federation.

Page published 31 August 2023.