Private Project

Marketa in the Desert

Two sisters reconnect on a road trip across the California desert to visit their estranged mother, set in the backdrop of the fall of the Iron Curtain.

  • Maddie Gwinn
    Director
  • Maddie Gwinn
    Writer
  • Rafaela Bassili
    Writer
  • Reese Dizon
    Producer
  • Lary Müller
    Key Cast
    "Marketa"
  • Lily Florczak
    Key Cast
    "Pauline"
  • Justin McWilliams
    Cinematography
  • Project Type:
    Experimental, Short, Student
  • Runtime:
    14 minutes 59 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    May 20, 2019
  • Production Budget:
    22,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    16mm
  • Aspect Ratio:
    1.66:1
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    Yes
Director Biography - Maddie Gwinn

Maddie Gwinn is a Europe-based emerging film director from Seattle with a BFA in film directing from Chapman University and Filmakademie Baden-Wurttemberg. She is the recipient of numerous grants, and as a vocal advocate of celluloid restoration, was invited to attend the 2019 HFPA Restoration Summit in Los Angeles and Il Cinema Ritrovato in Bologna.

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Director Statement

Marketa in the Desert is based on my grandmother's story of being separated from her sister for over forty years. Influenced by the films of Wim Wenders and Jim Jarmusch, we sought to subvert the male-dominated road genre and center the narrative around inner turmoil of sisterhood rather than external danger.