Bathory, the outstanding 2008 box office success in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, was the most expensive Central Europan film produced, at 15 million Euro. One Thousand Years of Solitude, which is produced by his company Jakubisko Films (www.jakubiskofilm.com), is expected to have a similar budget. A search for co-production partners is in the early stages.

Deana Jakubiskova-Horvathova, the film's producer (and director's wife) told FNE, "We are looking for European partners, and possibly U.S. also. It is very important to do it with people who feel it."

That "it" is the story of the Slavic people from the 9th Century, when the earliest history of the region emerged.

Jakubiskova-Horvathova describes the film as the confrontation of Pagan and Christian religions, with a love story at its heart. "The 9th Century is a very interesting century in Europe. The biggest empire was created by the Slavs, when Cyril and Methodius cam to pagan middle Europe, bringing Christianity in the Old Slavic language," she said.

Shooting locations are to be determined, but currently under consideration are locations in Slovakia, Transylvania, Ukraine, Bulgaria, and the Czech province of Moravia (the namesake of the original Moravian Empire). Plans are for an equally international cast to play the Franks and Slavs. Filming is planned for the winter of 2010.

Now, as Jakubisko turns his treatment into a script, comes the biggest question: Which language to use? "Maybe Old Slavic," Jakubiskova-Horvathova suggests.