It is a strong year for the Slovak cinema at the 58th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, which takes place from June 28 to July 6, 2024.
Three Slovak films will compete for prizes in the Crystal Globe Competition. The first of them is the historical drama The Hungarian Dressmaker directed by Iveta Grófová, produced by PubRes and co-produced by RTVS, among others. An adaptation of Peter Krištúfek’s novel of the same name, the film is set in the Slovak-Hungarian border region during World War 2 and follows the story of the Hungarian widow Marika and Jewish boy Šimon who is in hiding. You can learn more about the film in a short interview with Iveta Grófová.
Beata Parkanová’s follow-up to her 2022 directing award-winner, The Word, is called Tiny Lights (co-prod. AZYL Production, RTVS). This intimate family drama captures a day in the life of six-year-old Amálka, whose parents are going through a marital crisis. Adam Martinec will present his feature debut Our Lovely Pig Slaugher (co-prod. filmsomnia), a study of Czech nature that evokes the works of the Czech New Wave. The film takes placeduring what is known as “zabíjačka” in Slovakia—a traditional event where the entire family gathers to slaughter a pig and process the meat—which means that the drama does not take long to unfold.
The Proxima Competition section dedicated to fresh and formally bolder works also gives space to the feature debut of Paula Ďurinová titled Lapilli (prod. guča films), a personal experimental documentary about coping with the loss of grandparents, rock formations, and sea currents. Paula Ďurinová talks more about the film in a short interview.
The Future Frames: Generation NEXT of European Cinema section, co-organized by the European Film Promotion, of which the Slovak Film Institute is also a member, focuses on young filmmakers. This year’s Slovak representative is Katarína Gramatová with a short graduation documentary film A Good Mind Grows in Thorny Places (prod. FTF VŠMU) about young people growing up in a small Slovak village. Katarína Gramatová told us more about the film in a short interview.
Out of the Past section is dedicated to the history of cinema. Actress directed by Theodora Remundová, co-produced by PubRes, Slovak Film Institute, and RTVS, is a feature documentary about the prominent Czechoslovak film and theater actress Iva Janžurová, filmed through the eyes of her daughter.
After its success at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, the Czech audience will have a chance to see Living Large directed by Kristina Dufková, produced on the Slovak side by NOVINSKI and co-produced by RTVS and Magiclab. Slovak producer Agata Novinski tells us more about the film telling the story of a 12-year-old boy who comes to terms with his weight in a short interview.
Last year’s Venice Orizzonti winner Explanation for Everything (dir. Gábor Reisz, co-prod. MPhilms) about graduation turned into a national scandal was also selected for the Horizons section.
As part of the Special Screenings section, the audience in Karlovy Vary can look forward to four Slovak films. Czechoslovak Architecture 58–89 (dir. Jan Zajíček, co-prod. AZYL Production, RTVS), as the name suggests, takes a closer look at Czechoslovak post-war architecture.
Marie-Magdalena Kochová’s feature debut The Other One (co-prod. guča films) is an intimate portrait of a family in which one child has special needs, while their sister always remains “the other one”.
Jiří Mádl’s Waves (co-prod. Wandal Production) takes us back to the end of the 1960s 1960s, portraying the dramatic struggles of personalities at the Czechoslovak Radio’s international news office for freedom during challenging times.
After a successful premiere at the Berlinale, a documentary portrait of the prominent Czech photographer Libuša Jarcovjáková entitled I’m Not Everything I Want to Be (dir. Klára Tasovská, co-prod. nutprodukcia) will have its Czech premiere in Karlovy Vary. Back in February, we spoke with the Slovak producer Jakub Viktorín about the film.
In the Pragueshorts at KVIFF selection, we can also find the short animated film Electra, directed by Daria Kashcheeva and co-produced by ARTICHOKE, which premiered at the Festival de Cannes last year.
Martina Buchelová’s Lover, Not a Fighter (prod. NINJA FILM) will be part of the KVIFF Eastern Promises Works in Progress program.
More information and screening schedule: www.kviff.com/en/programme/catalogue-of-films
