The Uncle won the Jury Award at the 56thKarlovy Vary International Film Festival (KVIFF). It is the first feature by Croatian directors Andrija Mardešić and David Kapac. Together with 11 other international feature films, The Uncle was shown in the festival’s Proxima competition, a category oriented towards contemporary cinema, focusing as much on the work of young directors as established film-makers.
The Uncle takes place at Christmas, apparently in the Yugoslavia of the 1980’s. A family – mother, father and son – are joyfully welcoming an uncle back from Germany for the holidays. They are gathered round a traditional Croatian Christmas lunch when suddenly the latest model i-phone rings, interrupting the convivial moment. We realise this is not the 1980’s, nor is it Christmas for this family plagued by conflict.
Shot almost entirely indoors, the Croatian production company, Eclectica, defines this film as “a thriller dancing skilfully between the grotesque, terror and black humour.” In order to produce a feeling of discomfort for the viewers, the directors chose “unusual shot compositions…The character’s heads are cut off by the top of frame, as if suffocated by it.”
The Uncle’stechnical and narrative techniques were also recognized at Croatia’s national festival, the Pula Film Festival. On that occasion the film’s costume designer, Ana Savić Gecan, received the Golden Arena for Best Costumes and the directors won the Golden Arena for Best Screenplay.
The film was produced in collaboration with Sense Production (Serbia) and supported by the Croatian Audiovisual Centre and the Film Centre of Serbia.
