original title:
Caravan
directed by:
cast:
screenplay:
Zuzana Kirchnerová, Tomas Bojar, Kristina Májová
cinematography:
Dusan Husar
editing:
Adam Brotanek
set design:
costume design:
Lucia Skandíková
production:
MasterFilm, Nutprodukcia, Tempesta, supported by Ministero della Cultura, with the support of Eurimages, Emilia-Romagna Film Commission, Fondazione Calabria Film Commission
country:
Czech Republic/Slovakia/Italy
year:
2024
film run:
90'
format:
colour
status:
In post-production (07/10/2023)
Ester dreamt of this holiday in Italy for so long, but she ended up stuck with her mentally challenged son, David, in a caravan parked in the garden of her old friend´s house. Her friends tries their best, but they find it difficult to put up with David's unpredictable and destructive behavior. Ester feels alone, isolated and burdensome. She can´t take it anymore. At night, she starts the caravan and she and David set out on a trip across Italy. On their journey, Ester realizes she can be more than just the mother of a son with disabilities and that they can both live differently.
DIRECTOR'S NOTES:
The theme of The Caravan is wholly personal to me. My son was born with Down Syndrome and gradually developed autism as well. The actual storyline of the film is not personal. What is, however, is the desire to escape and the urge to rebel against the predetermined role of a single-mother of a disabled child. My choice of genre reflects this rebellion as I believe that a road movie is the best expression of Ester´s aggressive longing to live. Ester, the main character, is searching for a new path in life. Her search is not the blind trial-and-error of an adolescent, but a truly and deeply felt existential journey of an adult woman and a mother. Despite the heavy subject, it is essential for me that the film will be an optimistic one. Full of grace and humour.