During the current edition of Febiofest, Bratislava Industry Days, the regular gathering for film professionals, will take place. The main program consists of presentations of upcoming Works in Progress projects, with international participation for the first time this year. The event will take place on March 24 and 25 at Cinema Lumière and will also include three panel discussions.
The Bratislava Industry Days (BID) event, which takes place during the International Film Festival Febiofest Bratislava, is intended primarily for film professionals. Its aim is to build ties between the Slovak and international film environments, especially in the Central European region, and at the same time to reflect the current audiovisual production and industry in Slovakia in panel discussions. This year marks the 10th anniversary edition.
The main part of the Bratislava Industry Days programme is the presentation of upcoming Works in Progress projects, this time, in addition to Slovak projects, the selection will include projects from Central Europe, namely from the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Ukraine. In total, 16 projects in various stages of development will be presented – fiction, documentary and animation, long and short films, 8 of them are Slovak majority productions. During the first day of presentations, projects in production and post-production will be presented, the second day will be dedicated to projects in development and production. The presentations will take place live, about thirty representatives of international festivals, industry platforms, sales agents and other relevant film institutions have promised to participate.
The credibility of the Works in Progress presentations is reinforced by the participation of projects with high international potential. Among the Slovak projects, the feature film Duchoň by Peter Bebjak, the short documentary Seablindness by Tereza Smetanova, the short experimental documentary Inside by Dorota Vlnová and the documentary Animals of the East by Anna Ďurišíková and Andrej Kolenčík will be presented. Co-produced Slovak films will also be presented, namely the feature film Dreaming Differences by Kateřina Hroníková and the documentaries The Consequences of Truth by Denis Dobrovoda, Prometea by Kristína Žilinčarová and Wasteland Chronicles by the trio of directors Viera Čákanyová, Lucia Kašová and Barbora Sliepková. Furthermore, the lineup also features Slovak minority projects, namely the feature animated film Orla by Marie Lukáčová, the short animated film A Walk Through Nature by Matej Mihályi and the feature films Wirbel by Tomáš Hubáček and Soft Hours by Anna Gyimesi. The selection also includes international projects, such as the Hungarian Books Are Our Weapons by Máté Konkola, the Polish Against the Grain by Katarzyna Trzaska and the Ukrainian films Curtain by Valerie Sochyvets and Hardsub by Novruz Hikmet.
Participating Works in Progress projects will compete for five prizes. The main Best Febio Pitch Award, which is endowed with 3 000 euros, will be decided by an international jury composed of Sigrid Hadenius-Ebner (Uppsala Short Film Festival), Patrizia Mancini (Sheffield DocFest) and Nektarios Sakkas (Thessaloniki IFF and IDFF). The Cineuropa Work in Progress Partnership Award includes regular coverage of the award-winning project by the Cineuropa portal, the TATINO FILMS Award will offer one project consultation within the Pop Up Films or First Cut Lab programmes, the MIDPOINT Consulting Award will provide one project with an in-depth dramaturgical consultation and the KFF Industry Award will allow one project to participate in the CEDOC co-production market, which takes place during the Krakow Film Festival.
The 10th Bratislava Industry Days will also include three discussions. The organisers, in cooperation with Disco Sailing, will discuss the short film as an ideal medium for currents affairs with Slovak producer Barbara Janišová Feglová from HITCHHIKER Cinema and Croatian producer Danijel Pek from Antitalent, whose latest film, The Man Who Couldn’t Keep Silent (2024), directed by Nebojsa Slijepčević, won the Palme d’Or for short film at Cannes last year and was also nominated for an Oscar. In collaboration with the Association of Independent Producers there will be a discussion on the state of financing of independent film production in Slovakia and in cooperation with the Association of Slovak Cinematographers there will be a discussion on the topic of cooperation in the audiovisual industry with regard to finding balance and sustainability in the film profession.
Bratislava Industry Days is organized by the Association of Slovak Film Clubs and the Slovak Film Institute, partners include Cineuropa, TATINO FILMS, MIDPOINT Institute, Krakow Film Festival, the Slovak Audiovisual Producers’ Association, the Association of Independent Producers, Disco Sailing, the Association of Slovak Cinematographers, Creative Europe Desk Slovakia, and the Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival. The event is financially supported by the Audiovisual Fund and the Central European Initiative.
More information about the Bratislava Industry Days: https://febiofest.sk/en/bid/
More information about the selected Works in Progress projects: https://febiofest.sk/en/works-in-progress-selected-projects-2025/
