An interview with Petr Hátle, the director of "Mr. and Mrs. Stodola", interviewer Malaika Bova
"Czech director Petr Hatle isn't afraid to tackle challenging themes. While he has primarily focused on documentary films, Hatle has fearlessly explored subjects such as Holocaust tourism, social terrorism, and gender transitions. Exploring criminal themes is the director's passion, as he believes that if he had to do something else as a career, he would be a policeman.
His first feature-length documentary film, ""The Great Night,"" which portrayed Prague's nightlife without rose-colored glasses, was chosen as the best Czech documentary film at the Jihlava Film Festival.
In his debut narrative film premiering at PÖFF, ""Mr. and Mrs. Stodala,"" the director delves into the darkest aspects of human nature. Based on real-life events of a massacre that shook Czechia in the early 20th century, where the perpetrators were a seemingly ordinary married couple, Hatle allows himself to contemplate the impulses we'd rather not acknowledge.
Through the story of the murderous couple, the director also holds a mirror up to society - who should protect the vulnerable and the marginalized?
The film was shot in the city where the actual murders took place, where the whispering about the murders has only grown since the horrifying incident. ""My work on this movie wasn't that different than doing documentaries...You always have some reality in front of the camera and you shoot it and try to find some great moment of truth.""
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