|
 BEHIND
THE GLASS
(Iza Stakla)
Croatia, feature, 2008; 80 min
In Croatian with English sub-titles
Director: Zrinko Ogresta
Screenwriters: Zrinko Ogresta and Lada Kastelan
Producer: Ivan Maloca
Executive Producer: Sanja Ivancin
Production Companies: Paul Thiltges Distributions
Camera: Interfilm and Croatian Television
Editors: Josip Podvorac and Vladimir Gojun
Music: Mate Matisic
Cast: Leon Lucev, Jadranka Dokic, Daria Lorenci
Synopsis
Behind the Glass depicts a love triangle between successful
architect Nikola (Leon Lucev), his colleague and mistress
Ana (Darija Lorenci) and wife Maja (Jadranka Djokic). Nikola
is torn between these two women,
his mistress of six years who is waiting for a divorce, and
a wife aware of his infidelity. A beautifully composed psychological
drama, the film
reveals the moral dilemmas faced by characters who must confront
fate, destiny, coincidence and individual responsibility.
Taking place over the course
of five days, the film amounts to a stark illustration of
the Sartrean premise that “man is condemned to be free. Condemned,
because he did not create himself, yet…once thrown into the world,
he is responsible for everything he does.”
Behind the Glass is also
a prescient social commentary on Croatia in a phase of
transition, situating its story amidst contemporary
Croatia’s upper middle class. The destructive dynamics of the love
triangle at the center of the narrative are paralleled ominously
by a leitmotif in the film about a poisonous algae that has accidentally
been released
from an aquarium in Monaco and spread throughout the Mediterranean,
destroying all other marine vegetation.
Ogresta says: "This is my most personal film,
not in the sense that it is autobiographical, although there are
some elements of that kind, but
that it bares my inner feelings and view of life. We
are all in hands of a higher force, call it providence or God,
and sometimes it is something
that we cannot escape, however hard we try. I believe
anyone can recognize him or herself in one of these three characters."
Awards
‘Golden Arena for Best Actress in a Leading role’ (Jadranka
?okic´), ‘Golden Arena for Best Cinematography’, ‘Best
Film – Young Film Buffs’ Jury’ at Pula Film Festival
2008
‘
Audience Award’ at Motovun Film Festival 2008
Festivals:
2009 Göteborg Int'l Film Festival
2009 Tiburon Film Festival
2009 Goa International Film Festival
2009 Starz Denver Film Festival
2009 Flanders Film Festival, Ghent
2008 Bengalooro Film Festival
2008 Cinedays Festival of European Film, Skopje
2008 Cairo International Film Festival
2008 MedFilm Festival, Rim
2008 Karlovy Vary Film Festival
2008 Sarajevo Film Festival
Director Zrinko Ogresta
Zrinko Ogresta, one of Croatia’s leading filmmakers, was born in Virovitica,
Croatia in 1958. He graduated from the Academy of Drama Arts in Zagreb, Department
for Film and TV Direction in January 1982. Author of features, short and television
films, Ogresta makes films with stories that center on human tragedies. In Red
Dust, he focuses on a good-hearted boxer in undeserved troubles. In Here,
he watches various characters struggle in a similar mire of transition. His work
has won numerous awards at national and international festivals including Venice,
Karlovy Vary, London, Montpellier, Denver and Milan. Ogresta is a professor of
film and television directing at the Academy of Dramatic Arts in Zagreb and is
a member of the European Film Academy (EFA) in Berlin. Behind the Glass is
his fifth feature film.
Filmography:
HERE (Tu, 2003)
RED DUST (Crvena Pasina, 1999)
WASHED OUT (Isprani, 1995)
FRAGMENTS – CHRONICLE OF A DISAPPEARANCE (Krhotine, 1991)
DVD Source:
Maja Pavic at Interfilm
interfilm@interfilm.hr
INTER FILM
Nova Ves 45/2
10000 Zagreb
Croatia
tel. 385 1 4667 290
fax. 385 1 4667 022
interfilm@interfilm.hr
www.interfilm.hr |
