Roving Woman – The Wim Wenders executive produced film starring Lena Góra & John Hawkes will premiere at the Raindance Film Festival

Amor Vacui Films has announced that its feature film ROVING WOMAN will celebrate its European Premiere at Raindance Film Festival on 3rd November and is nominated for the Discovery Award.

A story of disappearance, solitude, love and the road, ROVING WOMAN is the debut feature film of Polish director Michał Chmielewski, written by Lena Góra and Michał Chmielewski and executive produced by Academy Award® nominated Wim Wenders (Paris, Texas, Wings of Desire, Pina, Buena Vista Social Club) and Orian Williams (Control, Shadow of the Vampire, Big Sur).

The film stars Lena Góra (The King of Warsaw, Imago, Traveling Light, Saint, Nigh at the Kindergarten), Academy Award® nominated John Hawkes (Winter’s Bone, The Sessions, From Dusk till Dawn, Martha Marcy May Marlene, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing), Chris Hanley (Spring Breakers, American Psycho, The Virgin Suicides). Co-financed by the Polish Film Institute, it is co-produced by John Hawkes and Laura De Casto.

A Mojave desert shot road film with a female lead, the driving force behind the project is Polish-American writer, producer, actress Lena Góra and is a debut film from the director Michał Chmielewski. ROVING WOMAN is executive produced by Wim Wenders and Orian Williams and is a study of a woman finding her way.

A story of belonging within society, invisibility, solitude and disappearance told through the eyes of Sara (Lena Góra) who, kicked out of home by her “almost-famous Hollywood fiancé”, steals a car and takes off. The car quickly becomes her only shelter where night by night she gets to know its owner, Gregory Milloy (John Hawkes) by discovering the items he left behind. As she drives further and further East through Joshua Tree desert dirt roads, she gets more and more fascinated with Gregory until one day she decides to find him. The film is freely inspired by the haunting disappearance of artist Connie Converse in the 1970s, unsolved to this day.

Connie Converse, a pioneer of the singer-songwriter genre trying to make it in 1950s New York until one day of August 1974, disillusioned with how her life had turned out, packed her possessions into her car and left her home. She has not been heard from since. She would be 94 today.

Director Michał Chmielewski said “Roving Woman was made in the spirit of true independent cinema and we believe Raindance is the perfect platform to reach a larger audience of European film-lovers with our road film. We look forward to meeting and talking to the audience after the screenings. It is a real honour to be part of this event and to be nominated for the Discovery Award.”

Writer, Producer, Actress Lena Góra said: “Together with Michal we felt that what is far more fascinating than a verbatim biopic of Connie is her time alone, after the disappearance. The time that is not part of her history, the time that was only hers, on the road. That inspired us to write the story of Sara. I, myself, spent the majority of my youth alone, at times homeless and on the road and when I first heard about Connie she felt so familiar and her music felt as if it was leading me in some way.

Naturally there’s a great sadness with Connie and her struggle to find her place but she was also incredibly funny. And that was very important for us. Her humour became one of the keys in writing ROVING WOMAN and making it an inspiring and not a disappointing one. Discovering the beauty, nostalgia and fragility of life. ”Life; How Sad, How Lovely, How Brief.” – Connie sings”

With Original music by John Hawkes and Connie Converse, the film’s score is by award-winning young composer and rising star Teoniki Rozynek. Her feature credits include Prime Time, which premiered at Sundance Film Festival 2021, also winning Best Score at PPFP 2021; Tower.A Bright Day was nominated for Berlinale 2018. It won at the Venice Biennale and was awarded The European Film Academy’s European Discovery 2020 Prix FIPRESCI.

ROVING WOMAN will celebrate its European Premiere at Raindance Film Festival on 3rd November.