Stop the Pounding Heart

Roberto Minervini / Italy, Belgium / 2014 / The film already had its Czech Premiere / 102 min.

synopsis

A young girl grows up on a goat farm with her many siblings. Her days consist of caring for the animals and studying the Bible. However, her family and religious upbringing set her on a life path to marriage and childbearing, but things begin to get complicated when she meets a young, likable cowboy. The film is a sensitive and intimate insight into a specific closed class of the American South, which also opens up themes of coming of age and gender roles. In this quiet portrait, authentic performances by non-actors from rural backgrounds mix with poetic imagery to create a suggestive insight into religious communities.

“Man wasn't created for woman but woman for man.”

Quote source: Bible, 1 Corinthians 11:09

biography

Italian Roberto Minervini (1970) lives and works in the United States. He works as a filmmaker, photographer, producer and teacher. He creates socially critical films between fiction and documentary. This year he won the Palme d'Or for Best Director for his historical war film The Damned (2024) in the Un Certain Regard category.