In the programme of the 55th edition of the International Film Festival Rotterdam (January 29 – February 8, 2026), two Slovak films will be presented in their world premieres.
In the Short & Mid-length programme, the short satirical documentary Greetings from Rhodes by Viera Čákanyová will be screened. The film was produced by Matej Sotník, representing both the Slovak company guča films and the Czech company Somatic Films.
The Slovak director has gained international recognition for her loose post-human trilogy: FREM (2019), White on White (2020) and Notes from Eremocene (2023), which, in addition to major festivals such as Berlinale, has also attracted the attention of film scholars. Slovak film theorist Jana Dudková addressed Čákanyová’s work in the monograph Človek na pokrAI with the subtitle Postantropocén Vierry Čákanyovej, published last year by the Slovak Film Institute.
The company guča films is also a co-producer of the second Slovak film in the programme – the short film Orla, directed by Marie Lukáčová. This experimental fairy tale with elements of animation, created as a co-production between the Czech Republic (the company CLAW, represented by Wanda Kaprálová and Klára Mamojková) and Slovakia, will be screened in the Tiger Short Competition.
The work of multimedia artist Lukáčová combines elements of mythology, science and politics. Her previous works were presented at major events: in 2019 at Ji.hlava IDFF (Moréna Rex) and at the International Short Film Festival Oberhausen (Milena’s Song), where she returned a year later with Pole Zin (2020).
