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The Root Crown

A devoted follower of logic is exiled to a town in which all crucial decisions are taken by a tree.

synopsis

Teresa, a Judge of the Supreme Court, would do everything in her power to protect her family. But suddenly, her husband Mat crushes his car into a tree and dies. Her daughter Ana locks herself in her father’s room, and when Teresa tries to drag the girl out of there, Ana bites her so hard that she bleeds. The funeral will take place in Mat’s hometown. It is a small settlement in a deep green Polish valley, ruled by bizarre rituals. This place feels like horror for Teresa, but for Ana it is a fairytale that resembles her father’s imagination. After a series of unsuccessful attempts to bury her husband, Teresa decides to leave the town. She has had enough. The next day Ana disappears in mysterious circumstances. The locals clearly have something to do with her disappearance as they try to convince Teresa that she came to the town alone. There is no Ana, they say. There was no Mat. Even you do not exist. Teresa declares war on the town, fights it bravely and loses it. And it is a happy ending.

Director’statement

How much time can one spend inside a memory? For how long is it a nurturing experience and when does it become dangerous? Can memories eat you alive? And if so, would they have you for lunch or as dessert? I want to invite you to a small town amongst the mountains. To the capital of mystery, where a tale is hiding under every rock and tree. I know this place by heart: it is my childhood fairytale land. I miss it, as I now live 1.000 km away from it, and I want to show it to you. Teresa will go there in a state of frozen mourning. We will watch this mighty survivor melt back into a human, soft shape, regaining a loving relationship with her predacious daughter and with the memories of her dead husband. My family was built by strong women who often carried the weight of the world on their shoulders. Not all of them had the opportunity to find peace and a safe space to lick their wounds. I would like to create a fairytale for grown-ups in which such an inspiring, soft transformation is possible. A mysterious “Borgesian” story. A film that will make you feel like you are entering a Hieronymus Bosch painting with an attitude of Alice exploring Wonderland.

TFL PROGRAMME:
ScriptLab 2018
Discover more details here:
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TFL Catalogue 2018

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