Making Monyová: how the biopic of a bestselling Czech author shines a light on domestic abuse and violent relationships

The team behind Monyová tell DQ how they brought Czech writer Simona Monyová’s life to screen in a series that portrays her strength while confronting the domestic abuse that led to her murder. With a flair for humour, irony and emotional insight, Czech author Simona Monyová became a phenomenon of women’s literature, publishing 29 novels in just 14 years. Yet as the tagline to a new six-part biopic about the writer states: “She wrote about love. She lived in Hell.” Though many people read Monyová’s books, few knew the circumstances of her personal life. For many years, she lived with domestic abuse in a violent relationship – one she eventually managed to leave before she was murdered in 2011, aged 44, by her second husband. She left behind three sons. Commissioned by Czech streamer Oneplay, the drama – called Monyová – follows the author in the 1990s as her career takes her from an ordinary apartment building to the top of the book charts and onto magazine covers. When she decides to leave her first husband to start a new relationship, her new lover quickly shows his true nature – leaving many to consider how her writing was shaped by her personal life. However, the show, which debuts today, never seeks to portray Monyová as a victim, and instead presents her as a distinctive author, a strong woman and a mother whose experience remains urgent and resonant today. Created in close collaboration with her family, it is produced by Film … Continue reading Making Monyová: how the biopic of a bestselling Czech author shines a light on domestic abuse and violent relationships →