SYNOPSIS

Young psychiatrist Marek (Mira Nosek) met pharmacist Daria (Klára Miklasová) on social networks, but after their first date, the attractive femme fatale Daria disappears. Marek manages to find her after several days in a psychiatric hospital where his mother (Jana Šulcová) works. He takes up her treatment as part of his practice and tries to decipher what has happened. Initially, it looks like Daria is really crazy, but soon he finds out that she may be just messing with him a little bit.

Or are things different?

And than comes the mystic guy Corraggio (Paweł Deląg) who no one knows. He’s a man who doesn’t use violence immediately, but when it comes to it, he can be ruthless… The real game of life has just started… Someone is watching Daria and Marek, and their new neighbour Taz (Paul Louis Harrell) will help them to “get lost” to a remote organic farm inhabited by people who do not want to or cannot be part of the society. A professor (Jiří Schmitzer) lives there and claims that everything is a game played by the powerful and that Daria, successful in her pharmaceutical research, has displeased some people... Anything can happen…

Daria

"Daria certainly had no idea that her pharmaceutical career would bring such havoc to her life. Her father, living on the edge of the law, is probably not the one who affects her fate and life in the illusion."

What is Daria about?

Daria is a movie about blurring the lines between reality and fiction. A film about tension, fear, and folly. Each of us has certainly experienced a situation where they had talked to someone about a particular thing and then saw it everywhere. Everyone has felt that they are being watched, eavesdropped; they are losing personal freedom. That’s what Daria is about for me.

There are a lot of scenes in the film that were certainly challenging to shoot. What was your strongest experience?

Probably a scene with Karel Dobrý from the psychiatric hospital. It was a very moving experience to play with an icon like him. Moreover, the whole ambient had such a strange gloomy atmosphere… Real psychiatric patients lived next to the pavilion where we were filming; it was a bizarre feeling.

There are quite a lot of bold scenes with Miro Nosek. How did you shoot them?

You can’t prepare for such scenes, and it’s definitely not a pleasant experience. However, it’s essential to have the right partner. And fortunately, I had one. In the beginning, you want to have as few people there as possible, but then you don’t really care and you just want to get it over with.

What did you perceive as the hardest part of the role? What was the biggest challenge?

For example, a scene where I was tied to a bed high above the ground. I’m afraid of heights, so I didn’t feel well at all. It was difficult, and I was not sure I could handle it. Or when we were running in the forest in freezing weather. That was very emotionally taxing. Even though we were dressed for the weather, we almost froze. At that time, there were about minus 17 degrees …

Why should viewers come to the movie theatre to see Daria?

Because here and there, it is good to watch some other type of movies than comedies. Sometimes it’s nice to think a little while seeing a film at the cinema.

Mira Nosek

"Trust is all that Marek has left. A psychiatrist whose life suddenly takes a completely different direction, and despite all his efforts, he cannot explain things that are happening around him…"

Mira Nosek is a Czech actor who graduated at the Janáček Academy of Music and Performing Arts (JAMU) in Brno. He became quite known for his roles in movies such as Rebelové/Rebels, Román pro ženy/From Subway with Love, Milenci a vrazi/Lovers and Murders, Účastníci zájezdu/Holiday Makers, Roming, Milada, and Ženy v běhu/Women on the Run. He has also acted in co-produced movies such as Poslední vlak/Der letzte Zug, Dítě č. 44/Child 44, or Úkryt v zoo/The Zookeeper’s Wife. He has also starred in TV series and movies such as Četnické humoresky/Policeman’s Humoresques, Místo v životě/A Place in Life, Soukromé pasti/Private Traps, Vyprávěj/Let’s Talk, České století/Czech Century, or Četníci z Luhačovic/Gendarmes from Luhačovice, Vyšehrad etc.

He currently acts in ten theatres, and he has already played in another twenty companies during his professional carrier. He also performs in musicals thanks to his musical talent. Currently, the viewers can see him in the Karlín Music Theater or Broadway Theater, Rokoko Theater, Řeznická Theater, Na Fidlovačce Theater, Ungelt, and the Palace.

You have played a major role in a genre film, which is not very often filmed here. What was it like?

It’s great that something like this was created here because comedies are usually produced in the Czech Republic. And suddenly, this movie is more serious. It’s not that we don't know how to make different kinds of films, but rather there has not been enough financial resources. Thrillers are a more demanding genre, whether in acting, the dynamics of the movie, or in terms of colour perception ... On the other hand, maybe it’s good that there are not many films like that ... When we already dived into doing such a movie, it just might turn out well.

Is this your first starring role?

Yes, this is my first starring role, so I cared about it a lot and tried really hard. Which, of course, does not mean that I am not trying to play well otherwise. Moreover, I had the opportunity to participate in the creative work on the screenplay as well, which was great.

How would you describe the movie in short?

It looks like a detective story, and pharmaceutical business also plays a kind of key role... I think we've been quite insolent about it.

Jana Šulcová plays your mother. What was it like to work with her in front of the camera?

Great! She had already played a kind of mother to me in a television series… Thus, one can say we just have followed through. It was a very nice and pleasant experience. Jana is an amazing lady, and some scenes with her were very touching.

There are scenes in the film that are quite challenging and bold. Is it possible to prepare yourself for a sex scene?

You can’t. Paradoxically, it is a terribly unpleasant experience. It’s not intimate at all, because there are twenty people around you. And it’s really embarrassing towards the lady, she is shy, but has to play it naturally. The only way to get some practice is by shooting other films… (he laughs)

JANA ŠULCOVÁ | PROKEŠOVÁ, MAREK’S MOTHER

"The head of the psychiatric hospital has experienced a lot in her life, but what is about to hit her now goes beyond all limits. Would a pragmatic mother handle a professional killer?"

After graduating from the Academy of Performing Arts (DAMU), Jana Šulcová acted for many years at the Prague City Theatres. She has also performed at the Bez Zábradlí Theatre, Radek Brzobohatý Theatre, U Hasičů Theatre, and Háta Theatre Society. She is known to the audience primarily from TV series, and movies such as Hříšní lidé města pražského/The Sinful People of Prague, Byl jednou jeden dům/There Was Once a House, Nejmladší z rodu Hamrů/Youngest of the Hamr Family, Tajemství proutěného košíku/The Secret of a Wicker Basket, My všichni školou povinní/Ein Haus mit tausend Gesichtern, Cirkus Humberto, Dobrodružství kriminalistiky/Adventures of Criminology, Horákovi/The Horák Family, Vyprávěj/Let’s Talk, Cukrárna/Sweetshop, Doktor Martin, Trpaslík/Dwarf etc. Just to mention a few other movies from her long filmography: Spalovač mrtvol/The Cremator, S tebou mě baví svět/I Enjoy the World with You, Fešák Hubert/Handsome Hubert, Dobré světlo/Good Light, Duše jako kaviár/Dirty Soul, Občanský průkaz/Identity Card, Kobry a užovky/The Snake Brothers, and Cena za štěstí/The Prize for Happiness.

"My role in the movie is exciting. I play a psychiatrist with a pretty tough life. The whole shooting was quite emotionally and physically demanding. I had long replicas and challenging scenes. Once, I even had to cry. But the whole crew was amazing, and they helped me a lot. The collaboration with the director was great, and the work with costume designer Dominika Pichler was also wonderful as she accurately captured my style and the elegance of my character."

KAREL DOBRÝ | SMID

"Is Šmíd a genius or a fool? A thin line, moreover, in a particularly dangerous game - who gets the message, dies. Is this a message that will save the world?"

After graduating from the Academy of Performing Arts (DAMU), Jana Šulcová acted for many years at the Prague City Theatres. She has also performed at the Bez Zábradlí Theatre, Radek Brzobohatý Theatre, U Hasičů Theatre, and Háta Theatre Society. She is known to the audience primarily from TV series, and movies such as Hříšní lidé města pražského/The Sinful People of Prague, Byl jednou jeden dům/There Was Once a House, Nejmladší z rodu Hamrů/Youngest of the Hamr Family, Tajemství proutěného košíku/The Secret of a Wicker Basket, My všichni školou povinní/Ein Haus mit tausend Gesichtern, Cirkus Humberto, Dobrodružství kriminalistiky/Adventures of Criminology, Horákovi/The Horák Family, Vyprávěj/Let’s Talk, Cukrárna/Sweetshop, Doktor Martin, Trpaslík/Dwarf etc. Just to mention a few other movies from her long filmography: Spalovač mrtvol/The Cremator, S tebou mě baví svět/I Enjoy the World with You, Fešák Hubert/Handsome Hubert, Dobré světlo/Good Light, Duše jako kaviár/Dirty Soul, Občanský průkaz/Identity Card, Kobry a užovky/The Snake Brothers, and Cena za štěstí/The Prize for Happiness.

"My role in the movie is exciting. I play a psychiatrist with a pretty tough life. The whole shooting was quite emotionally and physically demanding. I had long replicas and challenging scenes. Once, I even had to cry. But the whole crew was amazing, and they helped me a lot. The collaboration with the director was great, and the work with costume designer Dominika Pichler was also wonderful as she accurately captured my style and the elegance of my character."

PAVEŁ DELĄG | CORRAGGIO

"A professional who shall not be played with. Why does Corragio deal with the Daria case? This is a question that will be answered in the movie. Maybe…"

Pawel Delag is a Polish actor who started his career in his motherland, but is known abroad thanks to his role in Steven Spielberg's movie, The Schindler's List; and he began to perform in foreign films. He is also popular in Russia where he starred in one of the significant roles in the historical drama called Viking. He has appeared in many Polish movies and series. In 2017, we had the opportunity to see him in the Czech-Slovak-Polish co-production comedy Everything or Nothing.

How would you describe your character in Daria?

My character is quite mystical. He’s a man who doesn’t use violence immediately, but when it comes to it, he can be ruthless. The guy likes danger.

Is he a negative character?

You can’t say he’s an entirely contrary character that he’s the bad guy. He’s a man who has to do a job. And that’s what he’s doing. He is just doing his job. He is determined to use every possible thing to help him achieve his goal.

How did you get a role in a Czech film?

Quite simply. The producer called me and asked me if I wanted the role. And I said yes.

What do you think about the Czech cinematography?

It’s great! I really think it’s great. In Poland, we have that statement - “Czech film”, that is a bit derogatory. It does not reflect the quality of Czech movies; it rather means that something can be so surrealistic, so entertaining that it resembles some Czech films. And when it comes to shooting, the Czechs are great, I think one of the best in the world. You are calm and relaxed enough to make good movies. You have excellent actors, cameramen, directors, even producers.

What do you enjoy about acting?

It’s minimalism. There is a particular secret, depth in every person, and that’s what sells well on the screen. What is essential is what exists outside the words between the lines. The inner world. Every character has inside something like that. The possibility of grasping that energy, releasing it, and allowing it to work –that’s what I call minimalism in acting. There is no need for super-expressive kind of expression so that the character attracts the audience; the audience is more interested in the hero’s inner secrets.

PAUL LOUIS HARREL | TAZ

"Taz gets into many situations nobody would want to be in. But no one will ever break him … The most frightening thing is, however, that the character was created after a real person."

The American film and stage actor Paul Louis Harrell comes from Kentucky. After studying video game design and development, he decided to pursue acting and moved to Los Angeles. He has played in almost 30 mostly short films and series (Journeys, The Old Winter, The Greed of Men, Jeremy, Tie the Knot, The Big Raincheck, The Parasites, Sound Wave…) so far and has also performed in theatre (Siren Call on The Hollywood Fringe Festival).

The model for your character Taz was supposed to be a real person. Did you know that?

Yes, I knew that his character was written according to someone real. However, Tomáš, aka Tasmanian Devil, shortly Taz, is not an animated character from Warners. He is a Thai boxer from the panel housing estate of South City in Prague who worked for the mafia and absolutely lost the sense of fear and instinct for self-preservation.

How did you come across this movie?

It was, in fact, a piece of good luck… or fate? It is the work of the artistic masquer of the film who also plays the Devil - Josef Rarach, and his colleague Vlad Taupesh from the FX Creator team, who recommended me to the screenwriter. I’m very grateful to them for believing me because I still can’t believe it myself …

Why did you accept the role?

It was mainly a challenge for me. I wanted to work “internationally”. The Czech Republic was my first country outside the US; I have waited seven years for such an opportunity and did not leave the States. I couldn't miss that! It was also the movie with the highest budget I've ever worked on ... And besides, what could have happened to me? Like waking up in a bathtub full of ice outside Prague without internal organs, like in the movie Hostel? (laughter)

Have you ever played such a mysterious character?

I have already played similar characters, but no one was so hard and unobtrusive like this one. It was my most challenging role in my life so far, and, also, I had to learn it in Czech. I had to study the translation of the text, the importance of replicas of my actor partners… Even under such circumstances, I had to play everything so that it worked on the screen so that my character had his own personality.

How did you find the cooperation with Czechs and one Polish actor?

That was a dream. The crew was incredibly great, and Klára and Míra were very funny, we were always laughing… Tomáš Havlínek, Jana Šulcová - everyone was amazing. Pawel Delag – that was an exciting experience, he has excellent ideas and really understands his job. Everyone was so kind, funny… And I can’t forget the local food and beer! I will never forget this experience. I spent three months here, and I look forward to hearing the bells that I heard from my flat near Prague Castle, where I lived, street artists who played flute and accordion under my widows... Bohemia is the home of “nomadic actors”, and I will come back here whenever I can.

JIŘÍ SCHMITZER | PROFESSOR

"Conspiracy or reality? Does the professor know more than ordinary people, or is he really crazy? Who speaks the truth, and who lies?"

There is no need to introduce the seventy-year-old actor bard Jiří Schmitzer. He graduated at the Academy of Performing Arts (DAMU) and is theatre actor, singer-songwriter, and the son of the actor Jiří Sovák. He has been standing in front of the camera since the 1970s, and he is known to the audience from such hit movies as Marečku, podejte mi pero!/Marecek, Pass Me the Pen!, Postřižiny/Cutting It Short, Slavnosti sněženek/The Snowdrop Festival, Vesničko má středisková/My Sweet Little Village, Černí baroni/Black Barons, Báječná léta pod psa/Those Wonderful Years that Sucked or Kytice/Wild FLowers. Recently, he starred in the film The Old Men. During his career, he was nominated for the Czech Lion awards for six times, and he won the award for the movies Bumerang/Boomerang, Kráska v nesnázích/Beauty in Trouble and Jako nikdy/Like Never Before. He has also worked as a composer, songwriter, author of music for theatrical productions (e.g. Ypsilon Studio, U Valšů Theatre). As an actor, he has played at the Ungelt Theater or Ypsilon Studio. He plays a quirky professor in the movie.

NORBERT LICHÝ | DETECTIVE

"The question is whether the detective who tries to solve the case of Daria is acting in the name of truth and justice, or is just someone’s puppet..."

Norbert Lichý – a theatre and film actor, and the Thalia Award winner – has been performing at the Petr Bezruč Theater in Ostrava for more than thirty years. Currently, he acts in eight plays there and has played in dozens more. He also composes dramatic music. For the past twenty years, the audience has seen him in many movies (Amnestie/Amnesty, Hastrman/The Hastrman, Okresní přebor/Sunday League, Ve stínu/In the Shadow, Lidice, Kajínek) or TV series (Lajna/The Line, Dabing Street, Rédl, Kosmo, Vinaři/Winemakers, Cirkus Bukowsky, etc.). In the Daria movie, he plays a police investigator.

Film-Makers

Producer / Europe DMT Production: Michal Theer
Director: Matěj Pichler
Co-Producer: Patrik Kettner
Executive Producer / Drive Film Factory: Matěj Pichler & Pavel Vácha & Marika Karvánková
Screenplay: Daniel Miňovský
Camera: Aleš Hart
Music: Patrik Kettner
Sound: Tomáš Bělohradský
Editor: Jakub Vansa
Sound Designer: Lukáš Tvrdoň
Architect: Štěpán Kuklík
Mask-Costume Production: Josef Rarach & Vlad Taupesh
PFX Producer: Tomáš Srovnal
VFX Producer: Tomáš Brož
Costume Designer: Dominika Pichler
Opening Credits: Kateřina Bažantová alias Ktaiwanita & Charly Boudriot

BEHIND THE SCENES

• The character of Taz (Paul Louis Harrell) and the Compton bar events are based on truth. The scriptwriter knew the “real” Taz who had been shot there, almost died, the club was closed, and he went to a farm.
• The opening and closing scenes of the movie are almost identical, except for the fact that the bed linen has a different colour in each scene. Both Scenes were shot outside a real apartment; the bed was filmed from a crane, approximately ten meters high above the ground. The apartment was subsequently fully added in post-production.
• The movie contains many action scenes that always end with a clear victory for one or the other opponent. However, you will never see anyone dying throughout the entire movie. The whole story can be, therefore, explained in a completely different way…
• Moreover, the film also contains a lot of hidden links. For example, Daria's apartment number is 23, the same as the psychiatric hospital pavilion where she is placed.
• In the farm sequence, you can see a picture being painted by a local painter. As Daria and Mára pass by, a girl’s face appears in the haze in the corner of the image at an angle. It’s the face of Daria.

Hell

It was one of the most challenging scenes of the movie. It’s a dream sequence, and in the film, it takes only a few seconds. It was filmed all night, the architect and the director spent hours on its drawings, and, together with the cameraman, on the shot sequence. The Devil costume, worn by the artist masquer Josef Rarach, won an award at the world’s largest SFX event in Los Angeles. Josef spent about six hours just slipping it on, and had ice-cooling inside it. We spent a lot of time thinking and deciding the position of the footbridge above a 10-meter abyss, where the flames should be and how many of them, etc. A few days before the shooting, the roof at our selected location collapsed.

The Devil costume, worn by the artist masquer Josef, won an award at the world's largest SFX event in Los Angeles. Are you proud of that?

The "Devil " Character was invented by designer Vlad Taupesh, and created in the studio FX Creator. Vlad Taupesh and Josef Rarach were worked on Devil for about a month. Different materials and technics was used there. Bodysuit was done with foam latex , face – with silicone, horns and jewelry with epoxy . The makeup itself took about 4 hours. Vlad Taupesh and assistant Marina Kovtun worked on makeup on set. We work with PPI for a long time. And here we again use many colorsand other materials from that brand. For the first time Devil was presented in Hollywood in January 2017 at The International Make-Up Artist Trade Show (IMATS) and received high marks from professionals. Very often, our works are become popular in the world. We have fan clubs in many countries of the world, for example, in Mexico and Germany, we have repeatedly staged a massive cosplay of our creations.

Our works have repeatedly won first prizes in various makeup competitions, for example, in 2018, our creation received the main prize in the competition for the best character. More than 500 artists from all over the world took part in the competition, but our character turned out to be the best from the technical and artistic side. This is pleasant and we are proud of it, but we want to move on, not to stop there. Every day we work on developing new technics and new creations. However, back to the Daria. It was quite difficult to work on set - the shooting took place at a temperature of -10 C degrees. But Live fire in a room contributed to a sharp change in temperature from -10 to +50 C. Because of this, I had to constantly adjust and tweak the makeup between each take.

Daria has very strong theme worldwide, do you like it yourself?

It is difficult for me to evaluate this movie, since I worked on it. But Daria is fundamentally different from most modern Czech movies in a best meaning. After premiere i saw reactions of the audience. Movie was received very well. First of all, it seems to me that the story not leave people indifferent, it touches on universal human themes, conflicts that will be close to many. As well, the movie poses a number of psychological questions to the audience that make audience to think about.

Producer is entering with Daria USA market, does he has any chance to be successful?

It is very difficult to make any predictions. But again, this movie is very differs from most European (and Americans ones too), And that make it very special and very unic. I believe it will find its audience, and very good response in American people.

Locations

• More than fifty locations were used for shooting, i.e. an average of 1.7 minutes per site, and the crew often managed more than three places a day.
• The flats belonging to Marek and Taz were filmed in Vinohrady in Rubešova Street, where Tomáš G. Masaryk lived for several months more than a hundred years ago. Currently, the house is used as an illegal hostel for Ukrainian workers. We rented the entire house for filming.
• The house of the Mafioso Schwarz should contain an aquarium with piranhas. However, the crew found out that before they could start eating meat, these animals have to get acclimatised in a new environment for a week. The whole scene had to be, therefore, cut out from the movie.
• We used an unused building belonging to the Bohnice Psychiatric Hospital that was scheduled for reconstruction. From the real psychiatric patients, the crew was separated only by glass.
• Patients in the movie are, in fact, actors. Although the doctors wanted to keep some of our actors … :-)
• The farm where the last part of the movie takes place was located in the Bohemia-Moravian Highlands. It was filmed a few days after New Year’s Eve, and the entire crew got snowed in already going there. The actors lived in a hotel a few kilometres from the farm, and when they couldn’t leave the farm because of the snowdrifts, they stayed the night sleeping on the stove.
• The police station from the end of the movie was, in fact, represented by two locations: a kindergarten used as its exterior and one of the rooms of the Bohnice Psychiatric Hospital as its interior.