Two best friends spend an afternoon on a football field, dreaming of making it to the local football team. But dreams come with a price: when a group of older boys interrupts their game, one of them will see it as an opportunity to prove himself, while the other one senses something more sinister is at play.
How would you describe the setting and the characters in the film?
—
The backstory for the film is the famous football match played between Argentina and Yugoslavia at the 1990 World Cup quarterfinals, which took place in Italy. As neither side managed to score a goal, the match was decided by a penalty shootout. This story establishes the goalkeeper as the central character, a kind of demigod; especially for one of the two protagonists, who envisions himself in this crucial role. The performance of penalty shots serves to propel and guide the storyline, triggering an event that will transcend the bounds of a local football field and come to reflect the wider social climate.
Penalty Shot is an excerpt from and an announcement of your upcoming feature film Črna Mati Zemla (Dark Mother Earth), written by Kristian Novak, a dark coming-of-age tale dealing with the themes of trauma and memory. What made this episode stand out for you?
—
Growing up, both Kristian and I took part in similar events on and around football fields. The relationships formed on that patch of grass, which was a microcosmos in itself, fundamentally shaped the childhood years of many generations. The roles played out on this “stage” never changed, only their performers. As we grew up, we switched from “target” to “assailant”. The ruthlessness shown to us by the older boys was passed on to us, and we passed it on to those that came after us – without reflection, without mercy.
How would you describe the setting and the characters in the film?
—
The backstory for the film is the famous football match played between Argentina and Yugoslavia at the 1990 World Cup quarterfinals, which took place in Italy. As neither side managed to score a goal, the match was decided by a penalty shootout. This story establishes the goalkeeper as the central character, a kind of demigod; especially for one of the two protagonists, who envisions himself in this crucial role. The performance of penalty shots serves to propel and guide the storyline, triggering an event that will transcend the bounds of a local football field and come to reflect the wider social climate.
Penalty Shot is an excerpt from and an announcement of your upcoming feature film Črna Mati Zemla (Dark Mother Earth), written by Kristian Novak, a dark coming-of-age tale dealing with the themes of trauma and memory. What made this episode stand out for you?
—
Growing up, both Kristian and I took part in similar events on and around football fields. The relationships formed on that patch of grass, which was a microcosmos in itself, fundamentally shaped the childhood years of many generations. The roles played out on this “stage” never changed, only their performers. As we grew up, we switched from “target” to “assailant”. The ruthlessness shown to us by the older boys was passed on to us, and we passed it on to those that came after us – without reflection, without mercy.
There is a disquieting quality to the casual and seamless way in which the innocent children’s play gradually escalates into an almost ritualistic kind of violence. Can you elaborate on your approach?
—
Peer violence reflected in role-playing on the football field is a reflection of established and indefinitely regenerated norms of growing up. The upbringing of boys in this area is quite repressive. Initiation into a full member of the male community requires from the “candidate” a willingness to make personal sacrifices and a high tolerance for pain and provocation. And someone who has undergone initiation is required to be willing to use violence and inflict the same pain and provocation on others, in order to bring them up or select them in the “right way”. The situation portrayed in Penalty Shot reveals the saddest side of such a mechanism: Franc, who was persuaded to undergo initiation, never actually had a chance to be selected for full membership.
The bulk of the story is carried by two child actors, who have to perform several intense emotional scenes. Can you tell us more about your work with the actors and the acting process itself?
—
I’m interested in blurring the line between the actor’s interpretation and the real emotion that is hiding somewhere deep inside the actor. I want to lay bare this hidden part as much as possible. To achieve that, it was necessary to establish an exceptional mutual trust with the actors and their parents. During the rehearsal process with the child actors, we detected some suppressed emotions, which we later used to elicit the right response at the right time. In a way, it ́s just a Stanislavski’s system for young actors.
There is a disquieting quality to the casual and seamless way in which the innocent children’s play gradually escalates into an almost ritualistic kind of violence. Can you elaborate on your approach?
—
Peer violence reflected in role-playing on the football field is a reflection of established and indefinitely regenerated norms of growing up. The upbringing of boys in this area is quite repressive. Initiation into a full member of the male community requires from the “candidate” a willingness to make personal sacrifices and a high tolerance for pain and provocation. And someone who has undergone initiation is required to be willing to use violence and inflict the same pain and provocation on others, in order to bring them up or select them in the “right way”. The situation portrayed in Penalty Shot reveals the saddest side of such a mechanism: Franc, who was persuaded to undergo initiation, never actually had a chance to be selected for full membership.
The bulk of the story is carried by two child actors, who have to perform several intense emotional scenes. Can you tell us more about your work with the actors and the acting process itself?
—
I’m interested in blurring the line between the actor’s interpretation and the real emotion that is hiding somewhere deep inside the actor. I want to lay bare this
hidden part as much as possible. To achieve that, it was necessary to establish an exceptional mutual trust with the actors and their parents. During the rehearsal process with the child actors, we detected some suppressed emotions, which we later used to elicit the right response at the right time. In a way, it´s just a Stanislavski’s system for young actors.
How did you get the idea for the Penalty Shot?
—
For several years now, we have been developing and financing the feature film Dark Mother Earth, a novel adaptation with very demanding production settings and subject that is locally so important that became almost a cult in the last decade and internationally acclaimed (published by Amazon Crossing). Penalty Shot is based on some of the motifs from the novel and a feature film in development. These motifs tangle issues that the feature film explores more deeply – loneliness, betrayal of friendship, facing the demons from the forgotten past. It enabled the creative team to test the way we work with very young actors that are all non-professional actors in the scenes charged with deep emotions stimulated by actions that are sometimes dark and violent.
How did you finance this film?
—
Penalty Shot was planned from the beginning as a parity co-production by Croatia and Slovenia. Both national funds supported the film, and we closed the financing with funds from the City of Zagreb and an Austrian private funding. This was a natural decision because the story is situated in the region on the border of Croatia and Slovenia, with a dialect that is exactly “in between“ the two languages, in the area that cherishes common cultural, social and historical values. The director is one of the leading Slovenian filmmakers, while the writer is one of the most acclaimed Croatian novelists. A short film is part of the development of the feature film Dark Mother Earth that has extensive development funding confirmed by MEDIA, RE-ACT, the Croatian audiovisual centre, the Slovenian film centre and the Austrian film institute.
What was the most demanding part of the production of the film?
—
As Penalty Shot takes place in the region of Međimurje we wanted to make a film in the dialect, to test this as an option for a feature film. As the novel is so popular in the region, we invited everybody to a very long casting process that took place in every town and village in the region. We discovered brilliant non-professional actors and the director had the courage to make the journey to make the film with them. This was a very demanding process which gave us very good base experience in the scope of the development of feature film.
Many childhood were marked by relationships formed on a football field. The roles played on this “stage” were always the same; it was only us who were taking different ones while growing up.
Penalty Shot is based on one chapter of the novel Dark Mother Earth, written by Kristian Novak. Novel was published by Amazon Crossing, translated into many languages and is a local bestseller. Dark Mother Earth is a feature film to be, adapted by both authors Rok Biček and Kristian Novak. It is a story of a grown up Matija, who embarks on a quest for his forgotten memory to find out the painful truth about his past, his family and the village he grew up in. Penalty Shot is a starting point and a teaser for the feature film. Project has been supported by HAVC, SFC, RE-ACT, ÖFI and MEDIA and has been developed through TorinoFilmLab’s Script Lab.
Penalty Shot is based on one chapter of the novel Dark Mother Earth, written by Kristian Novak. Novel was published by Amazon Crossing, translated into many languages and is a local bestseller. Dark Mother Earth is a feature film to be, adapted by both authors Rok Biček and Kristian Novak. It is a story of a grown up Matija, who embarks on a quest for his forgotten memory to find out the painful truth about his past, his family and the village he grew up in. Penalty Shot is a starting point and a teaser for the feature film. Project has been supported by HAVC, SFC, RE-ACT, ÖFI and MEDIA and has been developed through TorinoFilmLab’s Script Lab.
Rok Biček (b. 1985). Class Enemy, his feature debut, won the Fedora Award at the Venice Critics’ Week (2013) and was a finalist of the LUX Prize, while the documentary The Family won the Gran Prix at the Locarno Critics’ Week (2017). His work revealed a rare confidence, backed up by a clear aesthetic favoring one shot sequences, specific colour schemes and dramatic subjects narrated in an almost low-key, off-hand, but always controlled style. He plays with the potential danger lurking in small, everyday details. A gesture, a glance or the wrong word can have the potential to spark a fire. Rok is now working on the film adaptation of a a novel Dark Mother Earth.
SELECTED FILMOGRAPHY
Penalty Shot
SHORT FILM
2021
The Family
DOCUMENTARY
2017
Class Enemy
FEATURE
2013
Duck Hunting
SHORT FILM
2010
Rok Biček (b. 1985). Class Enemy, his feature debut, won the Fedora Award at the Venice Critics’ Week (2013) and was a finalist of the LUX Prize, while the documentary The Family won the Gran Prix at the Locarno Critics’ Week (2017). His work revealed a rare confidence, backed up by a clear aesthetic favoring one shot sequences, specific colour schemes and dramatic subjects narrated in an almost low-key, off-hand, but always controlled style. He plays with the potential danger lurking in small, everyday details. A gesture, a glance or the wrong word can have the potential to spark a fire. Rok is now working on the film adaptation of a a novel Dark Mother Earth.
SELECTED FILMOGRAPHY
Penalty Shot
SHORT FILM
2021
The Family
DOCUMENTARY
2017
Class Enemy
FEATURE
2013
Duck Hunting
SHORT FILM
2010
Penalty Shot
SHORT FILM
2021
The Family
DOCUMENTARY
2017
Class Enemy
FEATURE
2013
Duck Hunting
SHORT FILM
2010
Franc GABRIJEL DOLENEC
Matija DAVID IVANOVIĆ
Mario KARLO ŽGANEC
Mičo DAVID ŠAFARIĆ
Joža SIMON HERPERGER
Ivica JAKOV FEHER
Tonči RADOVAN KOČILA
Director
Writers
Director of Photography
Editors
Re-Recording Mixer &
Supervising Sound Editor
Production Designer
Costume Designer
Makeup Artist
Producers
Executive Producer
ROK BIČEK
ROK BIČEK
KRISTIAN NOVAK
FABIO STOLL
ROK BIČEK
ANA ŠTULINA
JULIJ ZORNIK
IVAN VELJAČA
ANA SAVIĆ GECAN
MOJCA GOROGRANC
PETRUSHEVSKA
KATARINA PRPIĆ
DANIJEL PEK
ROK BIČEK
TEA MATANOVIĆ
Director
ROK BIČEK
Writers
ROK BIČEK
KRISTIAN NOVAK
Director of Photography
FABIO STOLL
Editors
ROK BIČEK
ANA ŠTULINA
Re-Recording Mixer &
Supervising Sound Editor
JULIJ ZORNIK
Production Designer
IVAN VELJAČA
Costume Designer
ANA SAVIĆ GECAN
Makeup Artist
MOJCA GOROGRANC
PETRUSHEVSKA
Producers
KATARINA PRPIĆ
DANIJEL PEK
ROK BIČEK
Executive Producer
TEA MATANOVIĆ
Director
ROK BIČEK
Writers
ROK BIČEK
KRISTIAN NOVAK
Director of Photography
FABIO STOLL
Editors
ROK BIČEK
ANA ŠTULINA
Re-Recording Mixer &
Supervising Sound Editor
JULIJ ZORNIK
Production Designer
IVAN VELJAČA
Costume Designer
ANA SAVIĆ GECAN
Makeup Artist
MOJCA GOROGRANC
PETRUSHEVSKA
Producers
KATARINA PRPIĆ
DANIJEL PEK
ROK BIČEK
Executive Producer
TEA MATANOVIĆ
Locarno Film Festival | August 4 – 14, 2021 | Corti d’autore, competition programme
Sarajevo Film Festival | August 13 – 20, 2021 | Short Film, competition programme
FeKK – Ljubljana International Short Film Festival | August 16 – 21, 2021 | FeKK SLO, competition programme
CinEast – Central and Eastern European Film Festival | October 7 – 24, 2021 | Short fiction films marathon – South, competition programme
FSF – Festival of Slovenian Film | October 12 – 17, 2021 | Short, competition programme | Vesna Award for Special Achivement
LIFFE – Ljubljana International Film Festival | November 10 – 21, 2021 | Europe in short, competition programme
TIFF – Thessaloniki International Film Festival | November 4 – 14, 2021 | Balkan Survey, selection
Les Arcs Film Festival | December 11 – 18, 2021 | Short Films, selection
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
ORIGINAL TITLE KAZNENI UDARAC (KAZENSKI STREL) INTERNATIONAL TITLE PENALTY SHOT DURATION 15 MIN ASPECT RATIO 2.39:1 (SCOPE), 25 FPS FORMAT DCP, PRORES SOUND 5. 1 YEAR 2021 ORIGINAL LANGUAGE CROATIAN COUNTRIES OF PRODUCTION CROATIA, SLOVENIA COUNTRY OF CO-PRODUCTION AUSTRIA PRODUCTION COMPANIES ANTITALENT, CVINGER FILM CO-PRODUCTION COMPANY ZWINGER FILM WITH THE SUPPORT OF HAVC – CROATIAN AUDIOVISUAL CENTRE, SFC – SLOVENIAN FILM CENTRE, CITY OF ZAGREB PHOTOS BY MARIO TOPIĆ
CONTACT
INFO@ANTITALENT.HR
INFO@CVINGER-FILM.SI
