01/03/2011

Filming starts Saturday, March 5 on In the Shadow of the Horse, a new film from director David Ondříček.

Production will wrap in early May, with a final version of the film ready at the beginning of the year.

Producers describe the film as a noir thriller set in 1950s Prague. Ivan Trojan plays a police detective investigating a theft. The crime attracts the attention of the communist secret police. An East German specialist (Sebastian Koch) is brought in and links the theft to a zionist conspiracy. The truth, however, is that both men – and justice – are being manipulated by their Stalinist governments.

In the Shadow of the Horse is an international co-production between Lucky Man Films (Czech Republic), Centrala (Poland) and Trigon Productions (Slovakia).

“From the beginning we have tried to create a big European project in which we could connect the cinematography of Central Europe,” producer Kryštof Mucha said. “In the Shadow of the Horse offers not just an interesting thriller set against historical events. It's also a strong story about the search for truth without compromise, and I'm convinced that this will help the film speak to international audiences.”

Ondříček wrote the script with Marek Epstein and Misha Votruba. Polish cinematographer Adam Sikora is the DOP.

Ondříček and producer Kryštof Mucha are shooting for an international premiere at Berlin next February. Ondříček's previous film, Grand Hotel [+see also:
trailer
film profile], screened in the Panorama selection in 2007.

Producer Ehud Bleiberg is handling international sales.

The project is supported by Eurimages, the State Fund for the Support and Development of Czech Cinematography, the Polish Film Institute and the City of Prague.

Falcon will release the film in the Czech Republic on February 2, 2012.