27/05/2008

After their collaboration on Magonia from 2001, Dutch director Ineke Smits again teams up with novelist Arthur Japin for her latest venture The Aviatrix of Kazbek (De Vliegenierster van Kazbek). Filming on the project started last week.

Japin, still most famous for his debut novel " The Two Hearts of Kwasi Boachi ", wrote the original screenplay. The story is inspired by real events that occurred during WWII, when Georgian soldiers were quartered on the Dutch island of Texel (also the setting of the recent hit Summer Heat - news) as part of the German occupying forces.

The Georgians were former POWs who enrolled in the German army to escape the camps, but had no desire to fight. Not a drop of blood was shed on Texel, and when the island was liberated the Georgian as well as the Dutch flags were hoisted.

Little Marie (Madelief Blanken), who dreams of flying away over the mountains, communicates with the foreign soldiers through song, inspired by the Soviet musical The Aviatrix of Kazbek that the soldiers have brought along.

The film also stars Georgian actors Zura Zhghenti and Kakha Kintsurashvili, German actor Peter Lohmeyer (Obaba) and Romanian actress Anamaria Marinca (4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Cristian Mungiu
interview: Oleg Mutu
film profile], focus).

San Fu Maltha of Fu Works and Els Vandevorst of Isabella Films produce the feature, in co-production with Denis Vaslin of Rotterdam-based Volya Films and Ellen de Waele of Belgian outfit Serendipity.

The Dutch Film Fund, the Rotterdam Film Fund, the CoBO Fund, NPS TV and the VAF (Flemish Audiovisual Fund) are all involved in the financing of the film that will reach Dutch theatres in 2009, courtesy of distributor BFD.