Moving beyond U.S. borders and into a foreign co-production for its next film, newly formed indie production and finance shingle Werc Werk Works announced today that it is financing and co-producing the moving drama THE TURIN HORSE with Hungarian production outfit T.T. Filmmühely, French production company Movie Partners in Motion FILM, Swiss production company Vega Film AG and German outfit Zero Fiction Film. The announcement was made by Werc Werk Works CEO, Elizabeth Redleaf.
Written and directed by renowned, award-winning Hungarian filmmaker Béla Tarr (“Damnation,” “The Man from London,” “Sátántangó,” “Werckmeister Harmonies”), the film boasts a stellar cast of acclaimed foreign actors including Miroslav Krobot (“Wrong Side Up,” “The Man from London”), Erika Bók (“The Man from London,” “Sátántangó”) and Volker Spengler (“The Marriage of Maria Braun,” “In a Year with 13 Moons”). László Krasznahorkai (“Werckmeister Harmonies,” “Damnation,” “Sátántangó”) co-wrote the screenplay with Tarr.
Executive producers are Elizabeth Redleaf, Christine Kunewa Walker, who serves as Werks’ President of Production, and Mike S. Ryan (“Junebug,” “Fay Grim”). Co-producing the film are MPM Film, Vega Films AG and Zero Fiction Film.
The film is scheduled to begin principal photography in November in Hungary.
In “The Turin Horse,” a carter and his daughter live out their lives on their farmstead, subsisting on hard work: their only source of income is their horse and cart. The father takes on carting jobs while his daughter takes care of the household. It’s a very meager life and infinitely monotonous. Their horse, now old and in very poor condition, is no longer able to carry out its tasks and pulling the loaded cart proves more and more difficult. Even the whip can’t force it to achieve beyond its strength. All that the horse wants is peace and an untroubled death.
The dying of the horse shapes the story of a film, which is framed by the gale sweeping all before it, whose function is to make true order in the world, at the same time giving the final tribute of respect to innocence and defenselessness. The film speaks about death, and the deep pain that comes with it, felt by all of us as a universal law.
Commented Redleaf, “It is a huge privilege to be working with Béla Tarr given his powerful and important influence on filmmakers around the world. We were drawn to the intellectual aspects of ‘The Turin Horse’ from the first presentation and felt compelled to support this great director in realizing his latest film, which may well be his final contribution to the world of cinema.”
In addition to “The Turin Horse,” Werc Werk Works recently announced that it is financing and producing acclaimed writer/director Todd Solondz’s next film – the highly anticipated part-sequel/part-variation of his controversial, award wining dark comedy “Happiness,” which begins principal photography later this month in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
