Soft Hours

Anna Gyimesi

Producer

Barbara Janišová Feglová

Lab Edition

2025

Production

Hitchhiker Cinema

Country

Slovakia, Hungary

SYNOPSIS

“Soft Hours" is a drama about Ilona, a woman in her fifties whose adult son, Tóbiás, died during a family trip to Slovakia. Overwhelmed by her loss, she hires Leon, a young prostitute, to fill the void by replacing him. As Leon seeks a mother figure, they develop a suffocating mother-son intimacy that ultimately fails to resolve their elemental needs. The encounter finally forces Ilona to confront her own guilt and imperfection as a mother, allowing herself to grieve.

DIRECTOR'S NOTE

“Soft Hours” explores the taboos of motherhood in a deeply personal way, stemming from my own grappling with societal expectations, particularly women's roles and the cult of perfection. Though I may not be a mother, this story became urgently compelling as I confronted my own perceived imperfections of my life path. “Soft Hours” tackles not only the stigma of motherly grieving, but also the emotional journey of letting go of idealizations, and finding a new self beyond rigid societal constructs.

ABOUT THE FILMMAKER

Anna Gyimesi (b. 1985, Budapest) turned from medicine to filmmaking, graduating as a director from the University of Theater and Film Arts Budapest (2019) and Docnomads (2021). Her films explore taboo social issues focusing on motherhood, womanhood, and marginalization. These themes are already visible in her shorts “Affricate” and "Falling”, with the latter winning the Heart of Sarajevo (2023). She's also a doctoral researcher on fiction and documentary boundaries. Soft Hours is her debut feature.

PRODUCER

Barbara Janišová Feglová

Barbara Janišová Feglová is a Slovak producer and founder of HITCHHIKER Cinema, a boutique company dedicated to auteur-driven films with strong social and political resonance. She has produced award-winning creative documentaries such as “A Hole in the Head”, “Lines”, and “Ms. President”. With a background in documentary cinema, she is now shifting her focus to fiction, championing bold, female-led storytelling. Her current slate includes “Soft Hours” by Anna Gyimesi, “This Room is Impossible to Eat" by Barbora Berezňáková, and the series “Child on Fire”. She also teaches at the Documentary Department of the Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava.

PRODUCTION COMPANY PROFILE

○ HITCHHIKER Cinema, Bratislava / Slovakia
○ +421 905 858 808
○ boruska@hitchhikercinema.sk

PRODUCTION BUDGET

○ Total budget: 1,110,000 USD
○ Confirmed budget and source: 30,000 USD (KULTMINOR, Slovakia)

LANGUAGE

Hungarian, Slovak, English

GENRE

Drama

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