Avant-garde. Innovative. Fascinating. And full of new talent. That's contemporary British cinema in a nutshell. The upcoming 20th Art Film Fest, running from 16 to 23 June 2012 in Trenčianske Teplice and Trenčín, will include a section entitled Focus: New British Cinema, honing its lens on troublesome English youth and delinquency in the suburbs of London, whose quaint brick houses often conceal a disturbing reality.
"In the recent past, British cinema was mainly represented by well-known directors such as Ken Loach, Mike Leigh and Stephen Frears, but since the end of the 1990s a new generation of filmmakers has come to the fore," explains section programmer Daniel Vadocký.
A selection of seven films will expose Art Film Fest's audiences to the sheer variety of genres spanned by contemporary British film, starting with the quintessential social drama of This Is England from director Shane Meadows, one of the 100 most influential figures in the UK arts world. Taking viewers back to the 1980s, the film centres on 12-year-old Shaun, a boy from a poor family who is bullied in school. One day he is befriended by a group of older skinheads, joining in on their idling, pot-smoking, petty-criminal activities. For now, Shaun's world appears worry-free.
Another major draw will be British actor Paddy Considine's directorial feature debut Tyrannosaur, the follow-up to his successful short Dog Altogether, featured in Art Film Fest 2008's Competition of Short Films.
Tyrannosaur is the tale of several individuals vainly struggling to free themselves from their own miserable lives, starring a brilliant Peter Mullan, quite possibly the finest British actor of his time. The film received the BAFTA Film Award for best British debut as well as the Directing Award at Sundance, independent cinema's most prestigious festival.
For a film that leaves audiences speechless, look no further than Lynne Ramsay's We Need to Talk About Kevin, featuring the Oscar-winning Tilda Swinton in a triumphant lead performance, a highlight of her prolific career. This emotional portrayal of the problematic relationship between a mother and her wayward son won Best Film at the London Film Festival, was nominated for BAFTA's Best Director award, and was screened in the Palme d'Or competition at Cannes.
While drugs and delinquency in London's suburbs may not sound like the most original of subjects, director Eran Creevy's debut Shifty is more than a typically eccentric British character study. Acclaimed by critics at home, the film was nominated for a BAFTA award.
This year's Focus has something to offer horror fans as well: Kill List, one of last year's best and scariest. Another singular oddity on the British scene, Black Pond uses a healthy dose of black humour to tell of a family wrongly accused of a murder. And those looking for laughs will find plenty in The Guard, a crime comedy poking fun at drug traffickers and naïve police.
Art Film Fest 2012 - the 20th International Trenčianske Teplice/Trenčín Film Festival is made possible by the financial support of the Audiovisual Fund.
Organizers: ART FILM, n.o., FORZA, a.s.
Co-organizers: The Town of Trenčianske Teplice, the City of Trenčín, Kúpele Trenčianske Teplice
General Sponsor: KOOPERATIVA poisťovňa, a.s. Vienna Insurance Group
Main Sponsors: Omnia Holding SE, Slovnaft
Official Transport Provider: Lancia
Logistics Sponsor: DHL
Student cinepasses for only €5 provided by Prvá stavebná sporiteľňa, a. s.
Sponsors: TIPOS, Slovak Telekom, Penzión Baske, Cinemax, Omnia Motoros, Omnia 2000, DOMO Omnia
Official Suppliers: Moët, Hotel Pax - the festival spa hotel, Esterle&Esterle, LampART, Stredná odborná škola polygrafická
Main Media Sponsors: Pravda, zoznam.sk
Media Sponsors: televízia JOJ, Film Europe, Central Europe Television, Rádio Europa 2, .týždeň, Eurotelevízia, Pardon, OK!, Kinečko, Kam do mesta, Focus, GONG SK, Boomerang Media, SITA, BlueSky, euroAWK
Sponsors: The Trenčín Self-governing Region, the European Commission Representation in Slovakia, the Slovak Film Institute, Celtima SK, Hotel Flóra
