Dubai-based sales agent Cercamon has boarded “Perla” ahead of its premiere at International Film Festival Rotterdam in the Tiger Competition.
Directed by Alexandra Makarová, it focuses on a painter who – after fleeing Communist Czechoslovakia – lives in 1980s Vienna with her new partner Josef and teenage daughter Julia. But when Julia’s father contacts her, Perla decides to cross the border again – and risk everything she has built.
“I come from a family of refugees who fled Russia after the October Revolution. Ours is a tragic story. There’ve always been conversations about concentration camps, hunger and missing father figures,” Makarová told Variety.
“My mother is a painter as well and I was mostly inspired by the women in my family. They were always left alone with the children, raising them while still trying to follow their dreams.”
In her film, Makarová decided to show a mother who challenges societal expectations. Played by Rebeka Poláková – joined by Simon Schwarz, Carmen Diego, Noël Czuczor and Hilde Dalik – Perla is a survivor. But there’s playfulness to her, too.
“Everyone wants to have a sympathetic protagonist, especially if it’s a woman. I was heading into that direction as well, simply because I was afraid. I would think: ‘Oh my God, what if the audience doesn’t like her?’ But it was more important to stay true to who she was,” she said.
“I wanted her to be a bit childish. With Rebeka, sometimes we would wonder: ‘What is she doing? Why is she acting like this?’ After we wrapped, we missed her. Personally, I don’t like this term, ‘strong female character.’ It’s trying to sell something. If you’re Wonder Woman, fine, you can be ‘strong.’ Perla is resilient, but it doesn’t come easy to her.”
Neither does facing her long-buried past and old lover. Unlike most stories about people leaving their countries in search of a better life, “Perla” is not about the escape. It’s about the return.
“It’s funny you said it, because Rebeka told me it was one of the reasons why she wanted to do the film. There are many, many stories about escaping and not that many about going back. It’s a really stupid decision, but she’s never allowed herself to look back. It reminded me of my mother as well,” admitted Makarová.
“Not everything was bad [in Czechoslovakia] but for a person like Perla, who wants to paint, who wants to be free, it’s terrible. Still, the country of your childhood always stays in your heart. There is a force, trying to bring her back. She needs this kind of catharsis and it was cathartic for me as well. I was born in 1985 and I’d lived in Czechoslovakia until the fall of the Iron Curtain with my grandparents. I wanted to go back and really experience it.”
Soon, Perla’s torn – also between two men.
“Josef has seen the world and she wants to see the world, too. He opens the door to the West and when you have this immense lust for life like she does, meeting someone like him feels like hitting the jackpot. But once they’re in Czechoslovakia and she wants to stay longer, you realize he has this power over her. She’s not free at all,” Makarová said.
“I never set out to make a political film with a ‘strong female character,’ but it is political. Especially when you think about how these men are treating her, pulling her in separate directions, telling her what to do.”
In order to get closure with Andrej, Perla needs to put her needs first – even before the needs of her daughter. Which, said Makarová, could raise eyebrows even today.
“She’s a mother and when we think about mothers, we think about Virgin Mary. When it comes to motherhood, feminism stops,” she stated.
“I am a mother as well and when I look around, I feel that the lives of the women of my generation revolve around their children. But if I forgot about myself, it wouldn’t be good for my daughter. My mum used to date when I was a child, she used to party and it was perfectly normal. There were many kids sleeping on the couch during parties. Now, people go: ‘No, we have to go home, I don’t want my kids to see me smoke, I don’t want them to see me drink.’ Perla is doing something for herself and in the end, it will be good for her daughter.”
“Perla” is produced by Arash T. Riahi, Sabine Gruber and Tomáš Krupa for Golden Girls Filmproduktion, Hailstone (Slovakia) and Ruth Beckermann Filmproduktion (Austria).
Cercamon’s CEO Sébastien Chesneau called “Perla” a “richly crafted” tale. “The film explores exile, identity and artistic expression with profound emotional depth,” he said. “Its evocative cinematography and powerful performances, led by Rebeka Poláková, make it a compelling story with universal resonance, poised to captivate festival audiences and arthouse cinemas alike.”
