Last night's press night was a triumph for Steve Hawes and co-writers as the award winning PROBLEMSKI HOTEL opened to rave reviews.
This unusual Christmas story follows a cross-frontier migrant's life 'within the system' - an endless, featureless, futureless round of queues – which becomes even bleaker in December. Bipul doesn't want to admit it, but the arrival of Lidia, a Russian girl makes a difference. Hope? Surely not! A future? Get real! December is also the ninth month of Martina's pregnancy. But, just when the situation seems hopeless, help is at hand.
Quotes from reviews:
« Poétique et envoûtant. » Télérama (“Poetic and spellbinding”)
« Une maîtrise sans faille. » Libération (“Faultless mastery”)
« Kafkaïenne métaphore sur un monde en perdition. » Positif (“A Kafkaesque metaphor for a world in perdition”)
« Le cinéaste montre l’absurdité, la poésie ou la drôlerie qui affleurent dans l’expérience migratoire. » Polka (“ The film-maker shows the absurdity, the poetry the humour that flourish among migrants”)
« Problemski Hotel parvient avec une indéniable virtuosité à mettre en balance le désespoir et la légèreté, Kafka et Tati. » Culturopoing (“…undeniable virtuosity in finding the balance between despair and lightness, Franz Kafka and Jacques Tati.”)
« Un charme indicible. » Le Journal du Dimanche (“Unutterable charm.”)