East of the West - Competition 2006 / Ryna / Romania, Switzerland 2005
The womanhood awakening in young Ryna is confronted with some tough challenges. Her story is set in the gloomily picturesque landscape of the Danubian delta, filmed in long shots accompanied by silence, or the sounds of nature.
Outwardly, the bleak and – by ordinary European standards – tough life in the Danubian delta hasn’t changed much at all. 16-year-old Ryna’s father may have started his own firm and now owns a petrol station, yet, in this backward region, business isn’t going well, and so he drowns his frustration in alcohol at any given moment. At home he behaves like a tyrant, the daughter is made to do men’s work at the petrol station, and the father, who wanted a boy, even forces her to dress like a man. Subdued Ryna, with her shaven head, never shows resistance; she does whatever she is told but, inside, she lives her own life. Although the environment offers her little inspiration, she has her dreams and interests, and she never allows anyone or anything to disturb her integrity. She is sensitive by nature, and this, together with her compelling beauty, is certain to generate a response.
93 min / Color, 35 mm
Director Ruxandra Zenide
/ Screenplay Marek Epstein
/ Dir. of Photography Marius Panduru
/ Music Antoine Auberson
/ Editor Sandra K’Bourch
/ Producer Eric Garoyan
/ Production Pacific Films, Strada Film, Navarro Films, Elefant Films
/ Cast Dorotheea Petre, Matthieu Rozé, Valentin Popescu, Nicolas Praida, Aura Calaraçu
/ Contact Lifesize Entertainment & Releasing
Ruxandra Zenide (b. 1975, Bucharest, Romania) is of Romanian-Swiss origin, she studied international law in Geneva. She subsequently spent a year at FAMU in Prague and the film she made here, Dust (Prach, 2002), was screened at several student festivals. She also had the opportunity to meet contemporary young Czech filmmakers at FAMU; screenwriter and beginner-novelist Marek Epstein wrote the script for Ryna. This is Zenide’s feature debut film, preceded also by a short film entitled Green Oaks (2003), awarded at several festivals.
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