22-02-2011

Slovak Matchmaking Mayor Wins German Prize

By FNE Staff

    The Matchmaking Mayor, a Czech/Slovak documentary about the efforts of a Slovak village mayor to encourage marriages among the local residents, won the Reader's Prize of the Berlin-based national daily Der Tagesspiegel. The award for the best film in the Berlinale Forum section comes with a 3,000 Euro cash prize.

    The ten-member jury, consisting of the Berlin newspaper's readers, chose the Czech-Slovak documentary from 31 films.

    In a statement, the jury said, "The prize goes this year to Erika Hníková for her film Matchmaking Mayor, which made us laugh and think and provoked lively discussion. A film capable of polarizing without ever having set out to do so. Its affectionate blend of discretion and intimacy in observing the eccentricities of the post-socialist era creates a complex portrait of single people uninterested in reproduction. A type of passive resistance; whether you laugh at it or with it is left up to you."

    The 72-minute film was produced by Jiří Konečný of Endorfilm (www.endorfilm.cz) with financial support of the Slovak Ministry of Culture and the Czech State Fund for Cinematography.

    Published in Georgia
    More in this category:« TVP Signs VOD Agreement with UPC Georgia Partners with MAIA Workshops »