Bernadett Tuza-Ritter is a Hungarian independent film director and editor. Her 2013 film “Cinetrain — Russian Winter” won the audience award at Vision du Reel documentary festival. “A Woman Captured” is Tuza-Ritter’s debut feature-length documentary and will be the first Hungarian feature-length film ever to compete at Sundance.
“A Woman Captured” will premiere at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival on January 22.
W&H: Describe the film for us in your own words.
BTR: My film is about a woman who has been kept as a modern-day slave for 10 years. After I met her and started shooting, she slowly started to trust me and decided to escape.
On one hand, it was very hard to watch how certain people treat others, but on the other, it was beautiful to see a woman get back her freedom and become a new person.
W&H: What drew you to this story?
BTR: Originally I got a school assignment: to make a short about the day of a person. I remembered this family that I knew had servants. I started to shoot with Marish and after a while I realized what was going on there, and that I had a very special access to a hidden problem. I could no longer leave her side.
W&H: What do you want people to think about when they are leaving the theater?
BTR: I want to create an emotional response. I hope they will be touched and attached. I want the people to recognize that modern-day slavery is happening here and now, in our neighborhood and everywhere.
As Marish says in the film: “I want people to see how they should not treat one another.”
W&H: What was the biggest challenge in making the film?
BTR: I was dealing with criminals, but not the usual way one would expect. Men who watch my film tell me it is a story about making a change in a dangerous world in a way only a woman can do. They tell me if they found themselves in this situation they would probably fight, shoot, punch, and there would be blood. I chose another way. I was patient, I had conversations, I paid attention, and I built trust.
W&H: How did you get your film funded? Share some insights into how you got the film made.
BTR: I shot most of it without any financing at all because I had to grab the opportunity when I got the access. So I started and shot with my character for one-and-a-hald years completely alone. Then I met my producers from Éclipse Film and a long process of further development, financing, and editing followed.
We got smaller amounts from several different sources. We started off with support from the Hungarian National TV Fund, then we got MEDIA from Creative Europe. Later, when we toured different forums with my producers Julianna Ugrin and Viki Réka Kiss. At DOK Leipzig we met our co-producers from Germany, Corso Film, who were able to secure another amount from NRW, a German fund.
W&H: What does it mean for you to have your film play at Sundance?
BTR: During the making of this film I went through a lot of difficulties and I’ve also been in physical danger. It was hard and risky. The whole time I focused on my goal: to raise awareness around the issue of modern-day slavery.
Now I finally know that it was all worth it because the film is being screened at Sundance, and I hope it will reach a big audience around the world. It also gives me the confirmation that the personal and professional choices I made during this process were probably right.
W&H: What’s the best and worst advice you’ve received?
BTR: Worst: “You should show other people’s faces and not only your main character’s because she is not interesting enough.”
Best: “I know it’s a nightmare and it’s painful, but don’t stop shooting! Think about that how many people you could reach and tell them about this issue if you finish the film. You could really make a change!”
W&H: What advice do you have for other female directors?
BTR: I don’t feel like I should give advice because everyone has to find their own path. To be honest I don’t really care whether a film was made by a woman or a man.
I care about knowledge, skill, talent, and taste, but women should have the same chance at expressing and developing theirs as men.
W&H: Name your favorite woman-directed film and why.
I like Sofia Coppola’s “Somewhere.” I like the simplicity of the film, how the storytelling, visual style, and rhythm work together. It is minimalistic, yet complex and spiced with a small irony.
W&H: Hollywood is in the midst of undergoing a major transformation. Many women and some men in the industry are speaking publicly about their experiences being assaulted and harassed. What do you think of the recently announced anti-sexual harassment Commission made up of industry leaders? Do you believe that it will help make systemic change? What do you think needs to be done to address this issue?
BTR: It is a difficult question, and I don’t think it is possible to answer in just a few lines. But to stick to the message of my film: a little more attention could make a huge difference. More attention and respecting each other’s boundaries, privacy, and bodies.
