A graduate of the Academy of Performing Arts Bratislava, Slovakian-born director Monika Mahútová already has several well-regarded short films under her belt, which have played at numerous festivals across the world.

Her latest short is Standing Still, which will have its world premiere as part of EFP’s Future Frames during the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. It tells the story of 27-year-old Anna (Mária Ševčíková), who still lives with her mother, Hana (Éva Bandor), in a small town. Both working in the same factory, day melts into day as life speeds past. But when Anna finds a new man in her life, both mother and daughter must face the possibility of change and their relationship being altered forever.

(El artículo continúa más abajo - Inf. publicitaria)

The film is a pitch-perfect character study with some clever dialogue and wonderful performances, which examines a universal theme whilst undercutting some of the inherent clichés of the genre.

Cineuropa talked with Mahútová to discover more about the origins of the film.

Cineuropa: How did the story of Anna and Hana come to you and your co-writer, Lucia Ditte?
Monika Mahútová: The idea came to us on our very first meeting after we’d decided to write a short film together. I had a situation in my mind: a woman, approximately 50 years old, goes into a frenzy and smashes furniture with an axe. We contemplated what could drive a character to such actions. One thing Lucia and I immediately agreed on was that we didn't want her actions to be motivated by a man. Afterwards, we spontaneously started to talk about our own relationships with our mothers, and that's how we found Anna and Hana.

The “person stuck in a small town” trope has become a popular one in cinema and popular culture. Were there certain films or filmmakers that inspired you and your approach to this short?
I don't think we have been inspired by certain movies, or not on purpose anyway. While writing a script or making a mood board, we always talk about movies that have something in common with our project, but I do not think there was an exact reference or desire to follow a trend.

It’s interesting that you make Anna 27 years old. Often, these films concentrate on teens growing up and finding a need to escape. But here, Anna has already grown up. Was there a reason for this?
One of the reasons for making Anna 27 years old is that she is no longer a child who is not responsible for her actions, even though she is treated like one. Also, her age works as a "memo" that she needs to change something now, or she will be stuck there forever with her mum in a relationship full of unspoken regrets.

There’s also a subtle change in perspective in the film: the first half is Anna’s burgeoning relationship, but then we explore her mother and her sense of disappointment and loss. Was it important for you to have the perspectives of both of these characters?
Anna is a reflection of Hana in some way. We always saw the relationship between them as a "main character". The film focuses on Anna in the first half, and then switches to Hana because we wanted to show both perspectives. Hana does not know where her daughter is, so we decided not to show it to the audience either and stay with Hana in her solitude.

How did you find your Hana and Anna? They have this wonderful, “lived in” chemistry.
Mária Ševčíková impressed me with the naturalness of her performance, which I had seen in several theatre performances she had been in. She had something "maternal" in her that fitted the concept of Hana and Anna's relationship. Similar aspects worked with Éva Bandor, who has a childlike playfulness in her, and I also admired the inner strength that emanated from her personality. Mária and Éva were just a perfect match together.

Do you know what your next project will be?
Scriptwriter Lucia Ditte and I recently started working on our first feature. There are also some small projects I plan to focus on in the meantime.