17

A short film on coming of age

2013, 12 min.

Synopsis

Dominika lives with her grandmother in the small Czech town of Žlutice. We meet her at a family party on the day she turns seventeen.

The next day, while she prepares for the usual Saturday trip to the disco, her grandma narrates the story of becoming a woman.

Putting on makeup and dressing up for the disco seems to be a rehearsal of independence and a theatrical expression of femininity and beauty. The tension between being dependent and yearning for freedom is softened by close family ties and mutual care.

Technical Specifications

• Original title: Sedmnáct
• English title: Turning Seventeen
• Country of production: Czech Republic
• Runtime: 12 min.
• Format: 16:9 HD 
• Sound: stereo 
• Subs: English

Film Crew

• a film by Petr Nuska, Aga Suszko and Pavel Borecký

Production

Summer School of Ethnographic Filmmaking – Žlutice, Czech Republic

Festival selections:

• Ethnografilm – France
• My Street Films – Czech Republic
• Echoes of Antropofest – Czech Republic

Full film