Australian Premiere

MODRA

Sun 14th August | 6:30pm | Dendy Opera Quays

Dir: Ingrid Veninger, Canada, 2010, 80 min | Cast: Hallie Switzer, Alexander Gammal

A sun-drenched, naturalistic and sharply observed tale of family, identity and teenage desire

Toronto teenager Lina gets dumped a week before the summer holidays, during which she’d planned to visit her extended family in the small Slovakian town of Modra. On impulse, she invites Leco instead, a cute boy from school. Once in Europe, Lina and Leco discover they have little in common, yet must navigate together this strange land, newfound independence and conflicting desires.

In 2008, Ingrid Veninger cast her son Jacob in a micro-budget charmer called Only. It won our Audience Award. Modra features her talented daughter Hallie Switzer amongst a cast of non-professionals. Using an authentic European adventure as rite of passage, Modra charts the heightened emotional turmoil of adolescence with warmth, insight and refreshing cliché-free honesty.

Screens with short film “Mystic Morning” (Jamie Travis, 10min)

“A prime example of heartfelt DIY filmmaking that really works... poignantly alert to the nuances of teen life.” – Variety