Six Weeks (Hat Het), the feature drama debut of director Noemi Veronika Szakonyi, is a portrait of a young woman putting her child up for adoption.
With a screenplay that she co-wrote with Mate Artur Vincze and Daoud Daniel, Szakonyi focuses on a defiant teenager, Zsofi (Katalin Roman), who gives up her newborn daughter. Doubts begin to arise within her even as she pursues her dream to become a table tennis champ.
A Hungarian law enacted in 2014 gives mothers an allocated time of six weeks to change their minds after giving their child up for adoption. The film examines the tough decision of whether to keep a baby or not.
Six Weeks deals with three mothers who are all different but their hearts are in the right place – Zsofi, who gives birth; Emma (Monika Balsai), who becomes a mother by adopting Zsofi’s child; and Zsofi’s own mom.
In an email interview with director Szakonyi, she shared, “Finding our lead actress was a real challenge. During quite a long casting period, we met plenty of talented young actresses, non-actors, and table tennis players. We had a strong vision of Zsofi’s character but we couldn’t find that layered, volcano-like strength with a certain vulnerability as well until Katalin Roman showed up. The very moment she sat in front of the camera for an improvisation of the character, she embodied Zsofi in such a subtle way. We got goosebumps watching her. We felt that she had a visceral connection to the character and a very profound understanding of her psyche.
“Another important challenge was to stay truthful to the core of the story, the reality of this situation and the characters involved. And for that, we built up strong relationships with social workers, adoption experts, and most importantly, adoptive parents and teenage biological mothers from whom we could always get constructive feedback.”
Szakonyi talked about what inspired her to make this film: “We have been researching adoption for several years with my husband (Vincze). One day, he told me the story of his friend’s experience with open adoption and the ‘six weeks withdrawal period’ which only existed since 2014 in open adoptions in Hungary.
“This controversial law raises fears in adoptive couples, as it could be hard for them to establish a bond with their adopted child during this period knowing that the biological mother could change her mind. It also takes a serious toll on the biological mothers, taking them on a turbulent, emotional rollercoaster after having made the most difficult decision of their lives. Most importantly, it could have a huge effect on the baby, as the first six weeks are crucial in their emotional development.”
“I hope audiences will understand how emotionally complex this situation is and get to understand the choices the characters make,” Szakonyi added. “We found both birth and adoptive mothers’ struggles poignant and moving but we chose the biological mother as our protagonist. We believe that their status is the most precarious and hopeless during this process, and their story is often like a scream silenced by the rusty norms of our society. These mothers, just like our protagonist, Zsofi, have to take on responsibilities no one should be facing alone.
“With this film, we would like to evoke strong empathy in the viewers, and embrace those who go through such difficult situations.”