The House

Colour, 35 mm
Slovak Republic, Czech Republic, 2011, 97 min
Section: Variety’s Ten Euro Directors to Watch

Synopsis

Small in scale but perfectly proportioned, contemporary drama The House marks talented Slovak director-writer Zuzana Liová as the equal of regional contemporaries such as Bohdan Sláma and Alice Nellis when it comes to making universal the small, poignant moments of everyday life. Remarkable for its depth of characterization, this sensitively observed, intelligently made realist tale of generational conflict, is set in a remote Slovak village where old grudges die hard. Ambitious teen Eva is about to graduate from high school and is eager to experience the world outside her pokey hometown. Meanwhile, her dour, controlling father is painstakingly building her a house on the family property. Liová’s tightly constructed screenplay makes meaningful looks and repeated gestures speak louder than words about expectations and desires.

About the director

Zuzana Liová (b. Žilina, Czechoslovakia, 1979), writer and director, studied scriptwriting and script editing at VŠMU, the Academy of Music and Performing Arts in Bratislava, where she now teaches. She started her career as a script editor, and later shot several TV documentaries and co-scripted a TV series. In 2005, she wrote and directed the TV feature Silence, which received a number of awards. Poignant contemporary drama The House (2011) unfolds against the backdrop of post-communist society’s shifting values. Developed over nearly nine years, the script won the Tibor Vichta Award in Slovakia’s National Screenplay Contest, the Hartley Merill International Screenwriting Prize and the Krzysztof Kieślowski Award at ScripTeast.