05-10-2022

PRODUCTION: Czech/Slovak Film The Body Based on True Story Enters Postproduction

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    The Body by Natálie Císařovská The Body by Natálie Císařovská credit: CineArt TV Prague

    PRAGUE: Natálie Císařovská’s debut feature The Body / Její tělo wrapped shooting on 23 September 2022. The film is a Czech/Slovak coproduction inspired by the real story of diver Andrea Absolonová, who became a world-famous porn actress after losing her Olympic dream and sports career due to a spinal injury.

    “I was hesitant to go deeper even after starting writing the script. It was morally and humanely hard for me to take all in and grasp the story. I´ve come to the decision that I can´t and won´t judge anybody according to their work, life choices and body presentation. I would like to share the willingness to accept that everyone has different boundaries,” scriptwriter Aneta Honzková, who wrote the script together with the director, told FNE.

    Natálie Císařovská was tempted to show the woman's relationship with her body. “Together with Aneta we looked into how the main character uses her body and how she treats it. How her body and she herself becomes kind of a public object. The theme of the porn industry carried me through different phases. First it was a certain fascination and tinsel of an industry which was a ‘gold mine' in the Czech Republic in the 90's. The big porn films were already made so we wanted to show the 'American Dream' idealising working in the porn business, the celebrity poses and the VIP society of that era with all its humour and bizarreness. But I didn't want to show it only from this perspective as Andrea was shooting porn long enough to see it from just one angle,” director Natálie Císařovská told FNE.

    “A weird moment was when we invited two doubles, two real porn actors, and they showed us real sex with a climax in front of the camera. I wouldn’t use anything from it as it would be pornography, but seeing it was very important for me to understand the reversed intimacy,” the director also said.

    The main cast includes Natalia Germani, Denisa Barešová, Zuzana Mauréry, Martin Finger, Zuzana Stivínová, Cyril Dobrý and Martina Mrakviová.

    The film is a Czech/Slovak coproduction, produced by Viktor Schwarz through Cineart TV Prague in coproduction and Katarína Krnáčová through Silverart, as well as the Czech Television and Slovak TV JOJ.

    The project received 288,000 EUR / 7,064,640 CZK from the Czech Film Fund and it was also supported by the Slovak Audiovisual Fund. Ninety percent of the budget of 800,000 EUR / 19,624,000 CZK is secured.

    The shooting took 25 days from 14 August to 23 September 2022. The film is set to be finished in March 2023. Bontonfilm will release it in the Czech Republic.

    Natálie Císařovská is a graduate from the Department of Documentary Film at FAMU. She directed seven short and long documentaries, as well as five short fiction films.

    Production Information:

    Producer:
    CineArt TV Prague (Czech Republic)
    This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

    Coproducers:
    Silverart (Slovakia)
    Czech Television (Czech Republic)
    TV JOJ (Slovakia)

    Credits:
    Director: Natálie Císařovská N
    Scriptwriters: Natálie Císařovská, Aneta Honzková
    DoP: Klára Belicová
    Editor: Jan Daňhel
    Music: Aid Kid
    Cast: Natalia Germani, Denisa Barešová, Zuzana Mauréry, Martin Finger, Zuzana Stivínová, Cyril Dobrý, Martina Mrakviová