Hot Docs 2016 Women Directors: Meet Helena Třeštíková— “Mallory”
Helena Třeštíková has directed forty films since graduating from Prague’s FAMU film school in 1974. Recently, Trestikova’s works have been the subject of retrospectives at several major festivals, including Buenos Aires International Festival of Independent Cinema (BAFICI), the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival, and RIDM Montreal. (Press materials)
“Mallory” will premiere at the 2016 Hot Docs Film Festival on May 5.
W&H: Describe the film for us in your own words.
HT: My film is a time-lapse documentary about the difficult destiny of a woman who decides to restrain from her drug addiction of 20 years. We are following her 13 year struggle with the administrative departments, bureaucracy, worthless boyfriends, and most importantly , the struggle within herself.
W&H: What drew you to this story?
HT: It was the strength I observed in the main character. I hoped this would create a powerful story.
W&H: What do you want people to think about when they are leaving the theater?
HT: I want my film to show the audience that you are capable of changing your own life, and that there’s always hope. That is the message not only for rehabbed drug addicts, but for everybody.
W&H: What was the biggest challenge in making the film?
HT: When a time-lapse film is done, the director has to understand the overall story, and the complex material collected over the years. All of this has to be shaped together in the editing room.
W&H: How did you get your film funded? Share some insights into how you got the film made.
HT: The film financing comes partially from the State Cinematography Fund, a state-based institution for film financing, and from public Czech television. The production was covered by the independent Czech company called Negativ.
W&H: What’s the biggest misconception about you and your work?
HT: The biggest misunderstanding is that as a director I am responsible for the development of the story within my own film. It’s not true. I am just an observer and I time-record what life brings to my characters. I don’t interfere with whatever happens, whether I like it or not.
W&H: What’s the best and worst advice you’ve received?
HT: The best advice I’ve ever gotten was from my professor at film school. I was told, “Be yourself: Find out who you really are, take advantage of your strong parts, and don’t try to be someone else.” I followed that advice.
The worst advice came from my parents: “Don’t study film. You have no talent for it.” I didn’t obey.
W&H: What advice do you have for other female directors?
HT: Don’t distinguish between female films and male films. Don’t turn your feminism into a weapon, and never think less of yourself.
W&H: Name your favorite woman-directed film and why.
HT: My favorite female director is a Czech director, Věra Chytilová. She was really demanding of herself and her work. She never made compromises. She always fought for every single millimeter of her film. Every one of her films was an event, and her films never age.
