Paris-based sales outfit Alpha Violet has acquired world distribution rights to “Caravan,” a first feature by Czech director Zuzana Kirchnerová about a mother and her disabled son who embark on road trip. The film will soon premiere in Un Certain Regard at the Cannes Film Festival.
“Caravan” stars prominent Czech actor Aňa Geislerová (“Havel,” “Anthropoid”) as a mother “worn down by years of caregiving who embarks on a transformative journey through Italy with her intellectually disabled son,” according to the provided synopsis.
A personal drama, shaped by Kirchnerová’s own experience as a parent to a child with Down syndrome and autism, “Caravan” explores themes of motherhood and rebellion. The film marks Czech cinema’s return to the Cannes’ official selection after more than three decades. The last majority Czech film in the fest’s main program was Jan Švankmajer’s “Faust” in 1994.
“Despite its difficult subject, I wanted to create a film that allows for lightness, sensuality and bitter humor,” Kirchnerová said in her director’s statement. She previously won the Cinéfondation Prize at Cannes in 2009 for her short “Bába.”
“Caravan” is lead-produced by the Czech Republic’s MasterFilm and Nutprodukcia from Slovakia, and is co-produced by Italy’s Tempesta and other partners. The film was shot in the Italian regions of Emilia Romagna and Calabria.
Alpha Violet co-CEO Virginie Devesa praised “Caravan” in a statement as “a powerful invitation to let go, live in the moment and embrace life’s difficulties as unexpected gifts.” Devesa went on to add that Kirchnerová “explores maternal guilt with honesty and without shame” in “Caravan,” which she called “a rare work of remarkable strength and authenticity.”
Recent titles on Alpha Violet’s sales slate include Mexico’s recent Oscar entry “Sujo,” which won the World Cinema dramatic grand jury prize at Sundance in 2024, and teen mental health drama “How to Be Normal and the Oddness of the Other World” by Austrian filmmaker Florian Pochlatko, which launched from Berlin earlier this year.
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