Panayiota gets for the first time a job as a cleaner in an attempt to support her family. While at her work environment she faces a ruthless system of exploitation, she spends the happiest period of her so far dull life. But this is not to last for long as the first layoffs are to arrive soon.
Cast
Marisha Triantafyllidou, Dimitris Imellos, Maria Filini, Konstantinos Gogoulos, Eleni Karagiorgi, Danai Primali, Orfeas Angelopoulos, Dimitra Vlagopoulou
World premiere
Toronto IFF 2018 – Discovery
Festivals / Awards
Haifa IFF 2018, Warsaw IFF 2018 (Winner: Best Film, F.I.PRES.CI. Award, Young F.I.PRES.CI. Award – 1st/2nd Film Competition), Thessaloniki IFF 2018 (Winner: Best Actress Award – Marisha Triantafyllidou), Rabat IFF 2018, Belgrade IFF 2018, Festival du Cinema Méditerranéen de Bruxelles 2018 (Winner: Best Film Press Award and Prix Special du Jury), Les Arcs IFF 2018, Göteborg IFF 2019, Bengaluru IFF 2019, Vannes EFF 2019, Kosmorama Trondheim IFF 2019, Sofia IFF 2019 (Winner: Best Balkan Film Award), Crossing Europe EFF 2019, Espoo Cine 2019, New York Greek Film Expo 2019, Festival de Cinema de Cinq Continents, Molodist Kiev IFF 2019, LA Greek FF 2019 (Winner: Best Actress Award), etc.
3 Hellenic Film Academy Awards – Best Debut Director, Best Actress (Marisha Triantafyllidou), Best Supporting Part Actress (Maria Filini) – Also nominated for Best Film, Best Script and Best Make-up.
World press
“A well-observed study of a woman’s unlikely liberation. The socioeconomic turmoil of contemporary Greece is distilled into the simple yet effective story of one woman who finds gainful employment as a professional cleaner in Her Job, which marks a promising feature debut for writer-director Nikos Labôt. Bolstered by star Marisha Triantafyllidou’s subtly touching turn and told in a straightforward, realistic manner that at times recalls the Dardenne brothers, the film reveals how one of the most basic and least valued vocations can still mean the world for someone struggling to support a family and, even more so, to find a sense of self-worth.”
— Jordan Mintzer, The Hollywood Reporter
“Triantafyllidou expresses Panayiota’s evolving strength of spirit and independence in the tiniest of measures; a shift in her countenance or an adjustment in how she carries herself. It’s a Herculean turn by the actress, made all the more so because you can hardly see the muscles she’s using. Behind the camera, Labôt is equally modulated, unfolding the story with patient care across a slim eighty-nine minutes, and never betraying his tone for a grand finale of redemption and lesson-learning. Witnessing the spark of confidence come to life inside Panayiota, and the small rebellions that follow will leave your eyes stung with tears by the note-perfect ending. Her Job is not just about the dignity of work, but what the gift of employment can do to the dignity of a person .”
— Kevin Jagernauth, The Playlist
” **** Her Job takes a sensitive look at how work and autonomy can change a person’s outlook. Triantafyllidou’s performance is gentle and nuanced, and her expressive face is often heartbreaking. Director Labôt’s first feature beautifully meditates on the mundane, and is an excellent reminder that all work can be meaningful.”
— Michelle Da Silva, NOW
” *** A lively and empathetic journey.”
— Yulia Kuzischina, ION cinema
“Thanks to Marisha Triantafyllidou’s organic and absorbing performance, Panayiota’s example sheds new light on the struggle for female empowerment in a toxic environment. When her initial feeling of financial ‘independence’ threatens to cause gender roles within the family to be swapped, the balance in the former pseudo-tranquil household is undone. At this point, the fight for personal autonomy becomes a battle for survival. A survival that can only be achieved through self-liberation. Nikos Labôt delivers a strong drama on the aftermath of the Greek financial crisis and the need for female empowerment in a dislocated and wounded society”
— Vassilis Economou, Cineuropa
Video Interviews
Les Arcs International Film Festival
Nikos Labot and Marisha Triantafyllidou
Η Δουλειά της | I Douliá tis, feature film, 89′, DCP, Color, Greece-France-Serbia 2018
