The upcoming documentary essay Sisters, directed by Tereza Bernátková, returns to the 1950s and 1960s Czechoslovakia. At the time, a group of nuns were relocated to a mental institution to care for the inmates, with one of them spending 13 years capturing life in this isolated women’s community on an 8mm camera. The project, produced by Dagmar Sedláčková and Natália Pavlove from the Czech company MasterFilm and co-produced by Tereza Tokárová and Peter Kerekes representing the Slovak company kerekesfilm, and Virginia Subramaniyam from Franch company Bachibouzouk & Les Poissons Volants, will be presented at the Docs-in-Progress pitching event as part of the Cannes Docs programme at Marché du Film (May 12 – 20, 2026).
Since the camerawoman of the archival footage is one of the nuns who lived and worked in the institution, the footage offers a unique access to this excluded world. Sister Imelda was primarily interested in the everyday lives of the women, but also in the environment in which they found themselves. However, the film is not romanticizing the idea of a community of women living on the margins of society, as there was a power imbalance between the two groups – the nuns and the wardens. The director thus follows two main conflicts: the community’s relationship to the outside world, which pushed them to the periphery, and the tension within the walls of the institution.
Except for the archival footage, the film uses information from official chronicles and medical records, as well as newly filmed material with those still living in the institution. The result will be an essay-like treatise on female emancipation, the abuse of psychiatric institutions, and social marginalization, which is scheduled to premiere in 2027.
The project has alrady been supported by Czech Audiovisual Fund, Creative Europe MEDIA, and Slovak Audiovisual Fund. It has previously been presented at the East Doc Platform and Dok Leipzig Co-Pro Market. Producer Natália Pavlove also participated in the Eurodoc workshop with the project, while director Tereza Bernátková attended the Circle Doc Accelerator with it. Sisters will be presented within the Circle Showcase at Cannes Docs program and looking for financial partners, festivals, sales agents, distributors, and buyers.
Sisters
Cannes Docs – Docs-in-Progress – Circle Showcase
Presentation:
May 18 | 11:45 | Lérins 1
