History of Illness, a feature film project by Croatian director David Gašo which was selected in the ScriptLAB section of the 18th TFL Meeting Event ,has been awarded the Eurimages Co-Production Development Prize (read news). The trophy promotes early-stage international co-production and was bestowed upon the movie by a jury composed of Radu Stancu (deFilm), Carole Baraton (Charades) and Emma Scott (Screen Ireland). We chatted with Gašo about this story charting a man's determination to diagnose an elusive tic, which intertwines with the absurd struggles of patients and staff in a hospital under renovation.

Cineuropa: Where did the idea for History of Illness come from?
David Gašo: History of Illness comes from my own personal experience of frequent hospital visits. For years, I was very concerned about my health to the point of obsession. This allowed me to spend a lot of time observing hospital spaces and the people inside them – both staff and patients - and to really try to understand the way this world works. I like people-watching, so I continually wrote down lots of ideas which, over time, turned into this film. I realised that hospitals are bizarre places which, despite all their misery, can also be really funny too. I’m a recovering hypochondriac so I’ve been using this distance to write a lot.

Do you have any specific film or literary references?
For History of Illness, I’ve been drawing significant inspiration from the films of Jacques Tati in particular, but also Elia Suleiman, Karpo Aćimović Godina and similar directors. I think they’re good references for the film’s tone, humour and visual approach, as well as its directorial approach. The physical space itself has always been a very important focus in my films, so I think a lot of my references stem from hospital photographs and architecture. I’ve also drawn some of the film’s game-like or puzzle-like elements from videogames, especially metroidvanias. I’m a big gamer.

Where are you at with the project?
The project is currently in the final stages in terms of the script. I’m hoping to lock it down soon and to start moving further into the development phase. There are lots of characters to cast and there’s a lot of work to be done on creating the hospital set. We secured production funds from Croatia during the ScriptLab process, but we won’t be shooting the film until 2027. I want to use the next year to really get into the film as much as possible, creatively speaking, while we try to finance the film.

Do you already have actors in mind?
The entire ensemble cast will be a combination of regional professional actors and non-professional actors. We’re currently casting the main character, Jošt, who’s the backbone of the film.

What kind of tone will the film have? How did you explain it during the one-to-one meetings here in Turin?
I describe the film as a fast-paced, absurdist comedy with surreal elements. The hospital is treated like a main character, of sorts. It’s a brain or a god which supervises all the other characters and influences the events taking place over the day and the night that we spend with these stories. That was one of the main ideas right from the outset, and it also chimed with my short film, Short Cut Grass, where a suburban neighbourhood is a leading character too. It also has a mythological quality to it.

How do you feel about the story’s international potential?
Initially, I thought the film would only be relatable to local, Balkan audiences because of our particular medical systems. Participating in ScriptLab and TFL, and getting the opportunity to talk to people from different countries, has helped me to realise that public hospitals are just as confusing and uncomfortable everywhere else in the world. It makes me feel excited for potential future conversations.

How can the Eurimages Co-Production Development Award help you? What's the next step?
The next step is finishing the script, then mostly casting, and working on the style and location for the film. I’ll use the development money for research and preparation work, which seems quite challenging and complicated on paper. The Eurimages Co-Production Development Award will mean we have time to prepare the film as much as possible. There’ll be plenty of things we can’t predict during this process, but I actually find that exciting. We’ll see.