Film Archive

The Tree

East of the West - Competition 2014 / Drevo / Slovenia 2014

One story, three angles. In three chapters the debuting director gradually pieces together her narrative, revealing the tragic situation in which a family of three finds itself as the result of an accident. The nonlinear thread of the drama cleverly keeps the viewer in a state of tension, heightened by shots that are almost claustrophobic.

Synopsis

One story, three angles. In three chapters, the film’s plot is told through the eyes of two brothers and their mother Milena as we witness a tragic situation which befalls the family as the result of an accident. The two sons, adolescent Alek and his younger sibling Veli, are unable to leave their house, the only place where they feel safe. After a period of time, however, their refuge becomes a prison for the boys.… Debut director and screenwriter Sonja Prosenc deftly breathes life into an original concept which helps her keep the viewer in a constant state of tension. The lead-up to the family tragedy gradually unfolds as an intimate drama conveyed via a nonlinear narrative; emphasis is placed on creating an increasingly dense atmosphere as the story develops. The impact of the film is heightened by the striking, in places almost claustrophobic, images created by cameraman Mitja Ličen, who also co-scripted the film.

About the film

90 min / Color, DCP
World premiere
Director Sonja Prosenc / Screenplay Sonja Prosenc, Mitja Ličen / Dir. of Photography Mitja Ličen / Music Janez Dovč / Editor Miloš Kalusek / Producer Rok Sečen, Sandra Ržen, Sonja Prosenc / Production Mono o / Coproduction RTV Slovenija, Staragara, NuFrame / Cast Katarina Stegnar, Jernej Kogovšek, Lukas Matija Rosas Uršič / Contact Monoo
www: www.thetree-film.si

About the director

Sonja Prosenc (b. 1977, Slovenj Gradec, Yugoslavia) studied journalism and culturology at the University of Ljubljana (2002), where she continued with post-graduate studies in communication sciences. She wrote and directed the short films Free-Spirited Friends (Nič novega, nič pretiranega, 2005) and Morning (Jutro, 2012) and the medium-length documentary The Man with a Raven (Mož s krokarjem, 2012). She attended the Berlinale Talent Campus, the Sarajevo Talent Campus, and TorinoFilmLab. The Tree is her feature debut. The screenplay for this film was developed as part of the EAVE programme.