18/05/2005

Cineuropa: What does it mean for you to be at Un Certain Regard with Johanna [+see also:
trailer
film profile] ?
Viktória Petrányi : It was completely unexpected. So I’m really thrilled and it is a great feedback for our film to be selected. We already had our short film Joan of Arc on the Night Bus selected at the Directors Fortnight in 2003.

Tell us about your production company and how you produced Johanna?
I set up Proton Cinema with the director Kornél Mundruczó a year and a half ago to produce his feature films, short films and documentaries. We actually met at university six years ago, and I also co-write the films he makes. We produced Johanna with Bela Tarr and Philippe Bober’s The Co-production Office is handling international sales for us. The film was made with a low budget: €400,000.

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How is the situation today with film production and financing in Hungary.
It’s getting better but you definitely need co-production support from television and foreign partners. The government organises many round tables with industry people to try to improve the situation. Our market is quite small, so we need other markets to recoup our investments. We have the advantage of being experienced in working outside Hungary. We’re now considering making a film in English language to have a bigger international audience.

What is your next project in preparation?
Kornél’s next film will be a science-fiction film: Delta co-produced with Philippe Bober’s German production office. We will also co-produce it with Lebra Film in Roumania. The film is not fully financed yet, so we’re discussing it here in Cannes. It will be set in the Danube Delta in the future and will tell the story of a village hit by a quarantine. A young girl tries to save the people and at the same time, starts to fall in love with her own brother. We will use the same creative team and the lead actress in Johanna Orsi Tóth.