07/08/2009

Czech director Alice Nellis is preparing for the last leg of shooting on her current production, Mamas & Papas.

Producer David Rauch said the crew is preparing to move to Egypt for ocean scenes. The production has already shot scenes in Ostrava and Prague, in the Czech Republic, and in the Dominican Republic.

Nellis wrote the screenplay, which tells four interconnected stories of modern parenthood: a successful couple who seeks to adopt, a young couple who consider an abortion, a poor couple who cannot afford to raise their child, and a mother whose marriage collapses.

“Being a parent determines your life. It's one of the few things in life that is irreversible. You can marry and then get a divorce. But having a kid is forever. Even if you lose it, even if the child dies or deserts you, the relationship will be with you until you die,” Nellis said.

Nellis is shooting the scenes largely in chronological order. The actors improvising with only the barest instructions from the director, which she says creates a more frank reaction. “People in films always seem to know what to say, and they say it fast and witty. For me it's much more about the waiting and misunderstanding,” Nellis said.

The film is produced by U.F.O. Pictures, who also worked with Nellis on Little Girl Blue [+see also:
trailer
film profile], with support from the MEDIA Programme and the Czech state film fund.

The cast includes Zuzana Bydzovska (A Country Teacher [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Bohdan Slama
film profile]), Marta Issova (Night Owls), Vaclav Jiracek, Zuzana Capkova and Filip Capka.

Falcon will release the film in the Czech Republic in March 2010.