07/08/2023 - A German-Slovenian-French co-production, the new feature by the award-winning Slovenian filmmaker is toplined by Maren Eggert and Jona Levin Nicolai

Maren Eggert and Jona Levin Nikolai in Not a Word (© Mitja Ličen)

The new film by Hanna AW Slak (whose previous movie The Miner [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Hanna Slak
film profile] had a healthy and fruitful festival run in 2017 and 2018), Not a Word, will enjoy its world premiere in the competitive Platform section of the Toronto International Film Festival (7-17 September – see the news). It could be described as an intimate drama, a chamber piece that deals with the challenges of professional and family life from the perspective of a single mother.

The film tells the story of conductor Nina (Maren Eggert, of I’m Your Man [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Maria Schrader
film profile] fame), whose practice sessions with the orchestra are interrupted by an accident involving her son Lars (Jona Levin Nicolai in his first big-screen role). The pair head to a holiday house on a deserted island for a while in order to start communicating again. As a winter storm hits the island, the tension between them, fuelled by a lack of trust, comes to a head.

Along with Maren Eggert and Jona Levin Nicolai, the cast includes Marko Mandić (a recognisable face in both Slovenian and German cinema), Gina Haller, Mehdi Nebbou (glimpsed in a number of high-profile films, from Munich to House of Gucci) and Maryam Zaree. The film was lensed by cinematographer Claire Mathon (known for her work on Portrait of a Lady on Fire [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Céline Sciamma
film profile], Spencer [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], Atlantics [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Mati Diop
film profile] and others) and was edited by Bettina Böhler (who frequently collaborates with Christian Petzold), and it features original music by Amélie Legrand (who also scored Slak’s previous film). Slovenian conductor Živa Ploj Peršuh served as an expert consultant.

Not a Word was produced by Germany’s Volte, France’s Ici et Là Productions and Slovenia’s Tramal Films. Michel Balagué, Miha Černec, Jožko Rutar and Christophe Bruncher served as producers and co-producers. The project was supported by the Slovenian Film Centre, RTV Slovenia, Eurimages and Creative Europe – MEDIA.

The majority of the principal photography took place on the French Atlantic coast.