A 18-minute gut-punch about love, chess, and mothers who need hobbies.
Pavle is a student of biology. He plays chess and lives alone with his mother. One day he meets Marija, a gentle girl who is exactly like him, lonely and yearning for love. An honest emotion and the beginning of a happy life together are born, but only until his cruel mother starts to interfere.
Acting
Štefka Drolc's mother is terrifyingly casual.
Direction
Naberšnik tightens the noose in 18 minutes flat.
Director
Marko Naberšnik
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Director Marko Naberšnik later became a prominent Slovenian feature filmmaker; this early short already shows his knack for family dysfunction.
The chess club setting reflects Slovenia's strong competitive chess tradition, but here becomes a metaphor for Pavle's trapped, calculated existence.
SI
