There is land destroyed by man. A place with no future where no one would want to return. Apart from one woman who seeks for her paradise.

The small Romanian village located in the isolated Transylvanian valley has been sinking into toxic sludge for decades. It’s constantly flooded by increasing mud from a nearby copper mine. Thousands of tons of waste flow into the valley every day. Near the tailings pond, mostly old widows and one younger woman named Valerica live there. Valerica ran away from her family and moved into an abandoned house inherited from her father. She drew a line behind her past and now she’s trying to live anew. In the surreal ruins of the landscape, Valerica finds her private paradise on Earth.

Valerica’s neighbors are the elderly widows who inhabit the valley area: they live in close contact with the tailings pond and stubbornly refuse to leave. Valerica helps them with work around their houses for a little money or just for food; she makes a living as a day laborer. Her best friend in the valley is Maria Prata, to whom Valerica goes to help on a regular basis. These two women have a relationship almost like mother and daughter: they take care of and keep an eye on each other.

The people from the village are gradually disappearing; either naturally or unwillingly. Every year, the level of mud (caused by mining) rises by one meter and floods more and more houses. Through five years of patient observation, our film follows Valerica’s story and its twists. Around 2025, the mud will come to the house of Maria Prata too, and she will have to make her final decision. Valerica, on the other hand, refuses to leave the area, despite the fact that one day she might end up all alone there. Like the last woman on Earth.

About the Filmmakers

Director/Producer

Katarína Jonisová

Katarína is a Slovak director with a documentary MA degree at VŠMU in Bratislava. Together with Miro Jelok co-founded the production company VINȚAFILMS in 2022 where Katarina is managing director. As a filmmaker, she has worked on short films and a documentary TV-series for Slovak public broadcaster (RTVS). Her short films were shown at various world festivals. Since 2020 she has been producing and co-directing with Miro Jelok the Valley of the Widows film. They work as directing partners and producers of their joint long-length debut.

Director/Producer

Miro Jelok

Miro is a Slovak director with a documentary MA degree at VŠMU in Bratislava. Together with Katarína Jonisová co-founded the production company VINȚAFILMS in 2022. As a filmmaker, he directed a TV documentary about women crossing the Schengen border, looking for a better life in Europe. His short story titled „Shhh!” was part of the feature-length film called Slovakia 2.0. He was selected for this project as a promising director and found himself in the company of the 10 best directors in Slovakia. The film premiered at Warsaw FF 2014. Since 2020, Miro has been producing and co-directing the Valley of the Widows film together with Katarina Jonisova.