filmmaker/comedian Sadvokassova Roxana

5000 €

Prodigal Daughter

The idea for residency is to work on a feature script. Prodigal Daughter is a debut feature with strong roots in family drama supported with visceral poetic symbolism of art house horror. A girl grows up in an insulated matriarchal family headed by an authoritarian Grandmother who has a traumatic past of her own. The family is hermetic and rigid, everyone has a role to play. Fearful of their practices, unwilling to be the heir, the girl - now a young woman - flees covering her tracks. She tries to build a new life and finds support in a few people sharing some details of her past. After her exit, the family system collapses, unable to cope with the “betrayal” Grandmother snaps and devours other family members turning into a creature made of fused bodies and limbs - all family members bound by mindless suffering and rage. There is a bleeding gaping wound on the monster's body - a part missing, and the sentient beast of many heads & voices starts the chase with the goal to return the prodigal daughter home. After the monster devours her friends who now voice her worst thoughts, she gives in to her guilt & shame over leaving the family and is devoured and turned into another body helplessly protruding from the side of the monster. Once fused, she ends up in a shared limbo space created by the complete fusion of family members’ consciousness - an agonizing shapeshifting fantasy of a happy home. The protagonist will either stay there or will find it in her to confront and get herself out without the help of a savior. The movie explores the concept of family enmeshment, its roots in generational trauma and the struggle of an individual from such a family to separate and enter emerging adulthood. The film will also touch upon generation gap and internalized misogyny. Now, this project is in the conceptual stage as I’m preparing my stand up solo. Prior to Saari I will conduct research and draft an outline that will give more clarity by the time I hope to be in residence.