16-03-2017

PRODUCTION: Mariana Čengel Solčanská Develops The Maidservant

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    Director Mariana Čengel Solčanská Director Mariana Čengel Solčanská

    BRATISLAVA: Director Mariana Čengel Solčanská starts developing The Maidservant / Slúžka, a strong feminist story placed in Vienna during WWI. Based on Hana Lasicová’s bestseller published in 2013, The Maidservant will be the first Slovak film ever to deal with female homosexuality.

    The film follows Anka who works as a maidservant for a respectable family from Vienna, and depicts her relationship with the daughter of the house. The story is set against the backdrop of the fall of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy and the creation of Czechoslovakia during 1914 – 1918.

    „Our ambition is to make a cruel, clean and straightforward film, where you can almost smell the kitchen, soap and night sweat, and where you can see blood on the protagonist’s knees while she is cleaning the whole house“, Hana Lasicová, who is also the co-scriptwriter, said at the Works in Progress presentation, Industry Days – MFFK Febiofest (2-8 March 2017).

    TRIGON PRODUCTION is producing with an estimated budget of 1.2 m EUR. The Slovak Audiovisual Fund is already supporting the development. Coproduction partners will be confirmed after the final draft of the script is finished. Given the coproduction potential, the cast will feature Slovak, Austrian, Hungarian and Czech actors.

    Script development and location scouting began in autumn 2016. The key part of shooting is planned for September 2017. The film is expected to be released in December 2018.

    The topic of homosexuality is rare in Slovak films, with the exception of Róbert Šveda’s Angels / Anjeli (DNA Production) and Zuzana Piussi’s documentary Crying of Angels / Anjeli plačú (atelier.doc).

    Solčanská‘s previous film, Kidnapping / Únos (JMB Film & TV Production in coproduction with RTVSŠtúdio 727), was released on 2 March 2017 and became a domestic box office hit.

    Production information:

    TRIGON PRODUCTION
    www.trigon-production.sk
    This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

    Credits:

    Director: Mariana Čengel Solčanská
    Scriptwriters: Hana Lasicová, Mariana Čengel Solčanská
    DoP: Ladislav Janošťák
    Editor: Ondrej Azor
    Music: Vladimír Martinka
    Sound: Marek Hart
    Set design: Tomáš Berka
    Costume design: Ivana Struhárová