In Focus – Slovakia
Slovak cinema has a rich history, but it began to develop much later than other national cinemas in Europe. So, we can still say that Slovak cinema is quite young. During the years, Slovak cinema has been heavily influenced by the political situation. The closure of Koliba Film Studios in the early 90s profoundly impacted the Slovak cinema industry. And it took years to start the film industry again. One of the main points was the formation of the Slovak Audiovisual Fund in 2010. Thanks to that Slovak film has experienced an “intense boom” in recent years – there are a lot of young, interesting authors, and genre experiments. It has also opened up to foreign countries, and several films are created as co-productions – not only as majority but also as minority co-productions. At the same time, many Slovak films premiered at major festivals such as Venice (107 Mothers, Victim, Photophobia) or Berlinale (Notes from Eremocene, Servants, Mimi).
The selection of Slovak films that will be a part of the Eastern Neighbours festival programme is proof of the diversity of Slovak cinema nowadays. From Teodor Kuhn’s debut feature-length film By a Sharp Knife inspired by true events; experimental animation combined Slovak tradition and PC games Criss Cross; a well-made documentary work of one of the main figures of Slovak documentary film – Robert Kirchhoff about an important person of our history Alexander Dubcek; or fresh new talents with short films such as Dominika Kovacova, Alica Bednarikova, and many others. I believe that this small “taste of Slovak cinema” will revive your interest, because Slovak film is alive and something worth watching.
