original title:
Caravan
directed by:
cast:
Anna Gaislerová, Juliana Brutovská
screenplay:
Zuzana Kirchnerová, Tomas Bojar, Kristina Májová
cinematography:
Dusan Husar
editing:
Adam Brotanek
set design:
costume design:
Lucia Skandíková
production:
MasterFilm, Tempesta, Nutprodukcia, supported by Ministero della Cultura, with the support of Eurimages, Emilia-Romagna Film Commission, Fondazione Calabria Film Commission
country:
Czech Republic/Italy/Slovakia
year:
2024
format:
colour
status:
In post-production (07/10/2023)
Ester (40) is a single-mother who has just one small dream: to spend a two-week vacation with old times friends in Italy without her mentally disabled son David (12). Things take a different turn. She has no other option than to take her son with her. Ester’s Italian friends are trying their best, but it’s tough for them to deal with David’s unpredictable behavior. They decide it would be better if Ester and her son spend the rest of their vacation in a caravan parked in the garden. For Ester, this is the final straw. The last thing she wanted was to spend her once in a lifetime holiday feeling like a pain in the neck to her friends. When night time comes, she starts the caravan and takes off. She does not know where they are going or how long they will stay there. On their transformative journey across Italy, 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.