Vienna-based Autlook Filmsales has acquired worldwide rights to Lena Vdové and Radu Ciornisiuc’s documentary “Tata,” set to have its world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival.
In the film, a journalist estranged from her abusive father discovers that he has become a victim of labor exploitation. When she agrees to help him expose the injustice, it reopens past wounds.
After years of estrangement, Lina, a Moldovan journalist, receives a video message from her father, a migrant worker in Italy, showing bruises on his arms. Providing him with a hidden camera so he can seek justice, Lina finds herself on a parallel journey – uncovering a pattern of domestic violence that has plagued her family for generations.
Filmed in Italy, Moldova and Romania, Tata depicts a family’s relentless struggle against toxic masculinity. The film tells the story of a daughter’s emotional quest to break this cycle for herself, the next generation and even her abusers.
“Tata” is Vdové’s first documentary. Vdové and Siornichyuk previously collaborated on Siornichyuk’s first feature-length documentary, “Akasa, My Home,” which won the Special Jury Prize for Cinematography at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival and was nominated for the European Film Awards.
“Tata” is produced by Monica Lazurian Gorgan, known for her work on award-winning documentaries such as “Between Revolutions,” “Akasa, My Home,” and the Berlin Golden Bear winner “Don’t Touch Me” and “Chuck Norris vs. Communism.”
“We are thrilled to be working again with this amazing team on such a powerful and personal film,” said Andrea Hook, Outlook’s Director of Sales. “We are confident that audiences around the world will be able to connect with Lena’s story and we are thrilled to be a part of her journey.”
“Tata” is produced by Manifest Film, in association with Corso Film, HBO, and 100% Film. It was produced with the support of CNC, MDR/ARTE, Film-und Medienstiftung, Dutch Film Fund, EO Docs, Eureimages, and Creative Europe Media. It was also financed by the European Union, Chicken & Egg Pictures, Al Jazeera Documentary, American Film Showcase Documentary, UNIONDOCS, Circle Women Doc Accelerator, E. Sudoc, UCN, and ICR New York.
Outlook’s lineup includes Toronto-selected “No Other Land,” directed by Basil Adra, Hamdan Bilal, Yuval Abraham, and Rachel Szur; Sundance Award-winning “Ibelin” by Benjamin Rhee (sold to Netflix); and Tribeca Award-winning “Searching for Amani” by Nicole Gormley and Debra Aruku.
