The upcoming 32nd edition of the International Film Festival Febiofest Bratislava (March 19 – 25, 2025) will once again showcase Slovak films, whose diversity and success abroad testify to the excellent condition of domestic filmmaking.
In the short film competition In the Middle of Europe, five Slovak titles have been selected among the final twenty. Among them are the animated films Hello Summer (dir. Martin Smatana, Veronika Zacharová), I Died in Irpin (dir. Anastasiia Falileieva) and Hurikan (dir. Jan Saska), which have been successfully collecting festival screenings and awards at home and abroad since their premieres last year. The documentary lineup includes Backstage Bardo (dir. Maroš Pulščák), previously screened at Estonia’s Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival, and Confession (dir. Rebeka Bizubová), which had its world premiere at France’s FIPADOC festival and is nominated for Slovakia’s Sun in the Net award. Representing feature films is Till Tomorrow (dir. Hannah Dale), which premiered at last year’s Áčko Festival at the Academy of Performing Arts.
Two Czech-Slovak co-production feature films will compete for the win in the documentary competition In the Middle of Europe. The World Between Us (dir. Marie Dvořáková) had its world premiere at the Ji.hlava festival last year, while The Other One (dir. Marie-Magdalena Kochová), which debuted at the Karlovy Vary festival, will enter domestic distribution following its Febiofest screening. The participation of Slovak titles in the competition sections concludes with the final part of the relationship trilogy of director Szabolcs Hajdu, the Hungarian-Slovak-American co-production Vulture’s Wake, which is competing for the feature film award.
Febiofest has also prepared a film programme for its youngest audiences with the non-competitive section Children’s Film Cabinet, which includes short film blocks. The animated film Criss Cross (dir. Nina Rybárová, Tomáš Rybár), which had its world premiere at Febiofest in 2023, is part of the Hurray for Adventure block. This lineup includes two other Slovak animated films co-produced with the Czech Republic: the previously mentioned Hello Summer and Everything We Missed (dir. Marta Prokopová). Hello Summer is also featured in the second block titled Together the World is More Beautiful.
Slovak films have also been selected for the non-competitive section In the Middle of Europe, including the animated films Electra (dir. Daria Kashcheeva) and The Garden of Heart (dir. Oliver Hegyi), the documentary Space Cowboy (dir. Lukáš Teren), and the feature film The Wayfarer (dir. Veronika Jelšíková).
The event also includes the Bratislava Industry Days, the main programme part of which is a presentation of upcoming Works in Progress films. The 10th anniversary edition will present 16 projects in various stages of development. Running parallel to Febiofest, the international educational and networking event Visegrad Film Forum offers lectures by renowned filmmakers. While primarily designed for students of the Academy of Performing Arts, the event is open to all interested participants.
For more information about the Febiofest programme, please visit the festival website: https://febiofest.sk/
