Well, it wouldn’t be a family road trip without a few breakdowns, right? That’s the central premise of “Treasure,” a new ‘90s-set father/daughter road trip dramedy that stars the inspired pair of Stephen Fry (“Gosford Park,” “V For Vendetta”) and Lena Dunham, the star, writer and creator of “Girls” among many other shows and films.
Post-“Girls,” Dunham has been very active back on the writer/director side of her career, releasing two films in 2022, “Sharp Stick” and “Catherine Called Birdy,” and she has another new series in the works. However, “Treasure” is actually directed by German filmmaker Julia von Heinz, a writer and director known for “And Tomorrow the Entire World” (2020), the series “b (2019), and “Standesgemäß” (2008).
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Based on the 1999 novel “Too Many Men” by Lily Brett, the script is credited to von Heinz, John Quester, and Brett, “Treasure” centers on an American journalist (Dunham) who travels to Poland with her father (Fry) to visit his childhood places. But Dad, a Holocaust survivor, resists reliving his trauma and sabotages the trip, creating unintentionally funny situations. It looks like a mix of comedy, drama, and feel-good family story.
“Treasure” was an Official Selection of the 74th Berlin International Film Festival earlier this year. Zbigniew Zamachowski, André Hennicke, and Tomasz Wlosok are also co-stars, but it appears to be primarily a two-hander between Dunham and Fry.
Here’s the official synopsis:
A father-daughter road trip set in 1990s Poland, Treasure follows Ruth (Dunham), an American music journalist, and her father, Edek (Fry), a charmingly stubborn Holocaust survivor, on a journey to his homeland. While Ruth is eager to make sense of her family’s past, Edek embarks on the trip with his own agenda. This emotional, funny culture clash of two New Yorkers exploring post-socialist Poland is a powerful example of how reconnecting with family and the past can be an unexpected treasure.
“Treasure” is scheduled to be released in the United States on June 14, 2024, by Bleecker Street. Watch the first trailer below.