Autlook Acquires ‘Tata’ Ahead of Toronto World Premiere (EXCLUSIVE)

As a seasoned movie critic with a soft spot for heart-wrenching documentaries that delve into the complexities of human relationships, I eagerly anticipate the world premiere of “Tata” at Toronto Film Festival. Having spent my formative years in Eastern Europe and having a deep appreciation for stories that resonate with the region’s struggles, this film seems to strike a chord with me.


The Vienna-based film sales company, Autlook Filmsales, has obtained worldwide distribution rights for the documentary titled “Tata,” helmed by directors Lina Vdovîi and Radu Ciorniciuc. This compelling documentary is scheduled to make its debut at the prestigious Toronto Film Festival.

In the movie, a reporter who’s been distant from her abusive father uncovers his situation as a victim of labor abuse. When she decides to assist him in revealing this injustice, it reignites the old hurts from their past history.

Following several years apart, a Moldovan journalist named Lina gets a video from her father in Italy, who is a migrant worker, revealing bruises on his arms. Determined to seek justice, she secretly gives him a hidden camera. This leads Lina on an unexpected path as she delves into the tragic history of domestic violence that has haunted her family lineage for generations.

Set in Italy, Moldova, and Romania, the film “Tata” offers an unvarnished depiction of a family entangled in a persistent battle against harmful masculinity. The narrative follows a young woman’s heart-wrenching journey to shatter the cycle for her own future, that of her descendants, and potentially even for the person who caused her pain.

“Tata” serves as Vdovîi’s initial directorial venture. Prior to this, Vdovîi and Ciorniciuc had worked together on Ciorniciuc’s debut feature documentary, “Acasă, My Home.” This film was honored with the World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award for Cinematography at Sundance 2020 and received a nomination for the European Film Awards.

Monica Lăzurean-Gorgan is the creator of “Tata”, a filmmaker celebrated for her contributions to acclaimed documentaries like “Between Revolutions”, “Acasă, My Home”, the Berlin Golden Bear winner “Touch Me Not”, and “Chuck Norris Vs. Communism”.

“Andrea Hock, Autlook’s director of sales, expressed great joy at collaborating once more with this fantastic team on a profound and intimate film. She believes that people worldwide will find common ground in Lina’s story and is thrilled to be involved in its progression.”

The film titled “Tata” was jointly produced by Manifest Film, Corso Film, HBO, and 100% Film. This production received backing from various organizations such as CNC, MDR/ARTE, Film-und Medienstiftung NRW, Netherlands Film Fund, EO Docs, Eurimages, Creative Europe MEDIA. The European Union, Chicken & Egg Pictures, Al Jazeera Documentary, American Film Showcase Documentary, UNIONDOCS, CIRCLE Women Doc Accelerator, ESoDoc, UCIN and ICR New York were the primary funders of this project.

Autlook’s lineup features the Toronto-selected film “No Other Land,” co-directed by Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal, Yuval Abraham, and Rachel Szor; “Ibelin,” which won an award at Sundance and was picked up by Netflix, directed by Benjamin Ree; and “Searching for Amani,” a film that received an award at Tribeca, co-directed by Nicole Gormley and Debra Aroko.

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2024-08-07 18:16