Caravan (Karavan), the debut feature from Czech director Zuzana Kirchnerová, will have its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival next month, screening in the Un Certain Regard section. The road movie starring Anna Geislerová has also been acquired for international sales by Paris-based Alpha Violet ahead of its Cannes premiere.
The film marks a rare return for Czech cinema to the Cannes official selection; the last Czech film to play in the Un Certain Regard section was Jan Švankmajer’s Faust in 1994.
Caravan follows Ester, a mother caring for her intellectually disabled son, as the two journey through Italy in a camper van. Geislerová plays the lead role in what the filmmakers describe as a poetic story about freedom, love, and the desire to truly live rather than merely survive. The film was shot in the Italian regions of Emilia Romagna and Calabria.
Kirchnerová, who previously won the Cinéfondation Prize in Cannes for her 2009 short Bába, drew on her personal experience as a parent to a disabled child in crafting the film’s intimate narrative. The story is informed by her own life as the mother of a child with Down syndrome and autism. The director selected Geislerová early on to portray the emotionally complex role of Ester.
“I longed for an actress who would connect deeply with the story and wouldn’t be afraid to go to the bone,” Kirchnerová said. She added that despite the difficult subject matter, her goal was to bring “lightness, sensuality, and bitter humor” to the film.
Caravan is one of just a handful of Czech films to ever be selected for one of the official competitions at Cannes. Prior to 1994’s Faust, Věra Chytilová’s 1970 feature Fruit of Paradise was the last Czech production to screen at Cannes.
The film is a co-production between the Czech Republic’s MasterFilm, Slovakia’s Nutprodukcia, and Italy’s Tempesta, among other partners. Dagmar Sedláčková produced the project, which reflects the growing trend of international collaboration in Central European cinema.
World sales rights have been picked up by Alpha Violet, a French distributor known for handling arthouse titles with international appeal. The company’s co-CEO Virginie Devesa praised the film as “a powerful invitation to let go, live in the moment and embrace life’s difficulties as unexpected gifts.” She added that Caravan is “a rare work of remarkable strength and authenticity.”
Caravan will have its world premiere at the 77th Cannes Film Festival, held this year from May 13 to 24, 2025. It will open wide in Czech cinemas from Aug. 28 courtesy distributor CinemArt.
