The UK-Czech Republic co-production Interlude in Prague has started filming in the Czech Republic and will continue the shoot until May 13th. The fictionalized plot is based on the true life events of Mozart’s visit to Prague in 1787 and centers around the creation of his opera Don Giovanni.
Interlude in Prague, advertised as “Shakespeare in Love-style drama with a Dangerous Liaisons tragic end”, is produced by Huw Penallt Jones from Productive International and Hannah Leader along with the local production company Stillking Films.
Photo by Petr Dobiáš | Courtesy of Stillking Films
The 30-day shoot will take place mostly on historic locations all around the Czech Republic, including the castles Libochovice, Ploskovice and Jemniště, the Doksany Monastery and the Baroque Theatre in Český Krumlov. This unique theatre, which is a part of the Český Krumlov Castle, will double for the interiors of the Nostic (modern-day “Estate”) Theatre in Prague, where Mozart conducted Le nozze di Figaro in January 1787. The tremendous success of this opera with the Prague audience generated a commission for another opera, Don Giovanni.
“This is a Czech story at heart, and the local film community is thrilled to help bring this movie to life,” said David Minkowski, co-producer for Stillking. Interlude in Prague will be based at Barrandov Studios and will spend more than EUR 7 million in CR with a cast and crew of more than 175 people.
Joining the all-star cast, which includes James Purefoy (Solomon Kane, John Carter, Ironclad), Aneurin Barnard (War & Peace,TheTruth About Emanuel, The White Queen and Les Miserables’ Samantha Barks, is the rising star Morfydd Clark (Love& Friendship, Les Liaisons Dangereuse, The Falling). Clark will play Zuzana Luptac, an 18‐year‐old soprano who begins a passionate affair with Mozart (Aneurin Barnard), but is forced to marry another man. Clark is joined by Ade Edmundson (Ade in Britain, Guest House Paradiso, Bottom) and Charlotte Peters (Pound of Flesh) as principal cast. The Czech cast starring in the film includes Klara Issova, Jiri Madl, and Krystof Hadek.
Written by Brian Ashby and Helen Clare Cromarty and directed by John Stephenson, Interlude in Prague will feature cinematography by Michael Brewster and production design by Luciana Arrighi. Arrighi won an Oscar for Howards End (1992) and worked on films such as Being Julia, The Importance of Being Ernest, Anna and the King, Sense and Sensibility.
“Interlude in Prague combines all the beauty of 18th-century Bohemia with the glory of Mozart’s music. Brian has written a powerful script and the passions, characters, heartbreak and tragic outcome are just as relevant to today’s contemporary audiences around the world. With John at the helm, it’s going to be a beautiful picture,” producer Huw Penallt Jones said to Variety (February 10, 2016).
Ludmila Claussová, the Czech Film Commissioner, expressed her excitement about the project: “Let me say how thrilled I am that Czech Republic is hosting a film with a story set in our country, and specifically in Prague, after many film and TV projects where it is subbing for other countries. This film will benefit tremendously from our beautiful period locations and specialists in the production design team, whose experience in crafting such historical films is second to none.”
