15/01/2024 - The Slovakian auteur's most personal project to date will depict a world under totalitarian rule where not having a child is not an option

Slovakian auteur Mira Fornay (My Dog Killer [+see also:
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trailer
film profile], Cook F**k Kill [+see also:
trailer
interview: Mira Fornay
film profile]) is set to return to Berlin following her success in last year’s Generation Kplus section, where she scooped the Grand Prix with the children's adventure film She-Hero [+see also:
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trailer
film profile]. The director is currently working on her fifth feature, Twist the Rabbit, which will take part in the Berlinale Co-Production Market (see the news), sharing the stage with Sally Potter and Babatunde Apalowo in the Berlinale Directors selection. Fornay has established herself as a distinctive voice in Slovak cinema, as evidenced by her previous work, the formalistically experimental Cook F**k Kill, which presents an imaginative, disturbing and strange take on the issue of domestic abuse and toxic masculinity while remaining within the bounds of cinematic realism.

The filmmaker’s versatility and originality are showcased in her new dystopian social sci-fi project. In the Europe of 2052, under the authoritarian rule of the Great Mother Party, Twist the Rabbit’s protagonist Leila and her partner are confined to the Institute for Re-education to Parenthood, owing to Leila's illegal abortion. Any means of preventing conception is forbidden and illegal under the iron fist of the Great Mother Party. They thus face the harrowing ultimatum of becoming parents within 28 days or losing all human rights. Their story becomes a struggle for love, autonomy and defiance against a regime that dictates the most intimate aspects of life, encapsulating the human spirit's resilience against oppressive powers.

Fornay has disclosed that Twist the Rabbit will be her most personal project to date. Rather than being a story about childlessness or challenging societal norms, the film will delve into the themes of freedom and choice in a radicalised society under totalitarianism. It examines the root of conflicts, both personal and political, arising from a misunderstanding of genuine needs and a deficit in empathetic communication while portraying a world where the majority claims the right to absolute power. In terms of its narrative structure, Twist the Rabbit will adopt a linear, non-experimental approach, reminiscent of Fornay's earlier works like My Dog Killer and She-Hero. The film's visual style is set to interweave static shots with dynamic handheld camera footage. The cast will be a mix of professional and non-professional actors, with predominantly female characters led by Tihana Lazovič Trifunovič (The High Sun [+see also:
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interview: Dalibor Matanic
interview: Tihana Lazovic
film profile], Forever Hold Your Peace [+see also:
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interview: Ivan Marinović
film profile]). Tomáš Sysel, a regular collaborator on Fornay’s films, will lens the picture as DoP.

Twist the Rabbit is being produced by Cineart TV Prague (Czech Republic) and Mirafox (Slovakia). The Czech Film Fund and the Slovak Audiovisual Fund have supported the project. Completion of the movie is preliminarily set for late 2025.