The short animated film Period Drama by Michaela Mihalyi was awarded the Best Febio Pitch Award, The House in the Middle / Dom uprostred by Dominik György was awarded the Cineuropa Work in Progress Award, while the debut feature/comedy My World Upside Down / Miškov svet by Daniel Rihák was selected for the Pop Up Film Residency Visegrad programme.
Projects in Development and Preproduction:
The House in the Middle / Dom uprostred (Slovakia, Czech Republic)
The story of Dominik György’s debut feature is set at the end of 1944, when a young deaf boy Sam is preparing for the upcoming Christmas with his family amidst the Slovak hills. A German unit finds refuge in the abandoned house next door and performs their mission, so Sam’s unsuspecting family becomes the bait for the coming enemies, the Russians. Sam believes he can protect his family by using his supernatural power, but when this falls short he realises that belief is not enough.
The film is produced by Slovakia‘s Furia Film in coproduction with 8Heads Productions from the Czech Republic.
„We are currently in preproduction. The first shooting day is planned for January 2024 and the completion of the film is set for the spring of 2025. We are now in negotiations with Germany and we are open to any other coproduction country,“ said Lívia Filusová from Furia Film.
My World Upside Down / Miškov svet (Slovakia)
Daniel Rihák’s debut feature is a comedy about an altar boy from a small conservative village in Slovakia. Miško needs to solve a tricky problem. He wants to be just like his older brother Lukáš: big, strong and reasonable. Yet he’s still small, naïve, and secretly in love with his brother’s girlfriend Linda. While he's trying to impress her, a misunderstanding results in the village and people start to think that Miško is gay. He vainly tries to shake off the accusation because nobody wants to play with or talk to him.
The film is produced by What If Film.
„Our estimated budget is 800,000EUR. We are looking for a coproducer, streaming platform, distributor and sales agent. The shooting is planned for the summer of 2024 and the estimated premiere is planned for the summer of 2025,“ said producer Martina Sakova from What If Film.
The End of Jarmila / Na milú Jarmilu (Slovakia, Czech Republic)
Alica Bednáriková’s short film tells a story of a murder in reverse: Jarmila goes back in time to prove her innocence. As she leaves her prison cell, she returns to a train station where she is “unarrested” by the police; then to her mother’s funeral, where her sister, Júlia, accuses her of murder; then to a railway bridge, where she and Júlia dispose of their mother’s body; and, finally, to her living room, where a bullet exits her mother’s forehead, finding its way back into the chamber of Júlia’s gun.
The film is produced by Slovak nutprodukcia in coproduction with nutprodukce (Czech Republic).
„We aplied for support from the Slovak Audiovisual Fund and the Czech Film Fund. We are planning the production for the autumn of 2023, while the completion is planned for the spring / summer 2024. We are open to discuss a possible coproduction outside of these two countries. In the future we are looking for sales agency and festivals,“ said Jakub Viktorín from nutprodukcia.
Period Drama (Czech Republic, Slovakia)
This short four-chapter animated film written and directed by Michaela Mihalyi highlights the biological events during the menstrual cycle. Menstruation connects the vignettes like a secret thread. Through the humorous gaze of a character, the film analyses menstruation’s essential and often baffling presence in life. While commenting on adolescence, gender politics, sexuality, motherhood and Orlando Bloom, Mihalyi takes us on a surreal trip that begins with her first period and continues as she, much like an egg, matures.
The film is produced by BFILM.cz in coproduction with Worst Films (SK), with support from the Slovak Audiovisual Fund, the Czech Film Fund and the Slovak Literary Fund.
„We have most of the crew on board already. However, we are open in terms of animation professionals as well as a composer, and we are looking for coproduction and distribution partners,“ said producer Jakub Rálek.
The estimated festival premiere is planned for 2025.
The Singing House / Spievajúci dom (Slovakia, Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary)
Andrej Kolenčík’s feature film is based on true events and follows the conflict between a mysterious woman and her neighbours, which escalates when she installs a device on her house that plays an opera aria from dawn to dusk, 365 days a year, for 15 years.
The film is produced by Slovak Admiral Films in coproduction with i/o post, Water Color Studio (Poland) and Stranger Films Budapest.
Projects in Production:
Rocks / Kamene (Slovakia, Czech Republic)
Paula Ďurinová’s mid-length documentary is a film about empathy for the minerals shaped by mourning processes. A story about the influence of disappearing water on the formation of rocks, and the memory of grandparents who were taken away from the director by the pandemic. The film blends the emotional and environmental, taking us on a journey to a life that is no more.
Slovak guča films is producing in coproduction with Claw (Czech Republic) and with support from the Slovak Audiovisual Fund.
„The film should be completed in October 2023. We already have distributors confirmed in the countries of production. We would like to reach festival selectors, distributors and people from crossmedia platforms,“ said producer Matej Sotník from guča films.
The Valley of the Widows / Údolie vdov (Slovakia, Czech Republic, Romania)
Miro Jelok’s first documentary tells the story of Geamăna, a small Romanian village in the Transylvanian valley. It’s been sinking into toxic sludge for almost 40 years, incrementally buried by mud released from nearby opencast mining. Thousands of tonnes of waste flow into the valley every day. Near to a tailings pond, there live only a few widows and a young woman called Valerica, who fled her despotic husband and moved into an abandoned house inherited from her father.
The film is produced by Vințafilms in coproduction with dog 95 film (Slovakia), i/o post (Czech Republic), Filmtett ( Romania) and Mphilms (Slovakia).
„The completition of the film is planned for 2026. We are currently in the late development stage / early production stage. We received development support from the the Slovak Audiovisual Fund and we've already applied for production support. We are open to any collaborations,“ said director and producer Miro Jelok from Vintafilms.
Projects in Postproduction:
Hanging without Walls / Pozor, padá SNG! (Slovakia)
The first long documentary by Jana Durajová and Lena Kušnieriková follows Alexandra Kusá, the CEO of the Slovak National Gallery. After decades of deterioration, the neglected main building of the gallery, whose visionary architectural concept was ruined by its execution and therefore never fully accepted by the public, is undergoing a full-scale renovation. For eight years, Alexandra struggles with the authorities, contractors, naysayers and the lack of resources. Can one person change the fate of an important cultural institution? What price will Alexandra Kusá have to pay for her efforts?
The film is produced by PubRes in coproduction with the Radio and Television of Slovakia. The estimated budget of 220,000 EUR is supported by the Slovak Audiovisual Fund.
„The film is planned to be completed in the late summer of 2023 and ready to premiere in a festival in the autumn of 2023 or at the beginning of 2024. We are currently looking for festivals and sales agent,“ said international delegate Arkaitz Basterca.
The Editorial Office / Redakcia / Редакція (Ukraine, Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia)
This feature film by Roman Bondarchuk tells the story of Yura, who works at a local nature museum. While looking for rare species in the forest, he witnesses an arson. He takes the photos to a local newspaper, which offers him a job. In his new profession, it dawns to him that the reality around him is a far cry from that depicted in the newspaper.
The film is produced by Ukrainian production companies Moon Man and South Films in coproduction with Elemag Pictures (Germany), Silverart (Slovakia) and MasterFilm (Czech Republic). The estimated budget of 1,164,863 EUR is supported by the Ukrainian State Film Agency, the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation, MDM, the Slovak Audiovisual Fund, the Czech Film Fund and Eurimages.
„We are about to shoot the epilogue scene here in Slovakia, while the rest of the film is close to final edit. We are currently looking for sales agents, distributors and a possible festival release,“ said producer Katarína Krnáčová from Silverart.
Shedding the Mist / Svlékat mlhy (Slovakia, Czech Republic)
Kateřina Hroníková’s short fiction film tells the story of Johana and Ivo, a couple trying to navigate their desires in an anti-utopian world, where access to images is severely restricted. The possibility of the literal clouding of their vision continually hovers over the film, creating a constant underlying sense of unease. The film targets the importance of images and the emotion and value we attribute to images in our lives.
The film is produced by FTF VŠMU in coproduction with Foundation Fund Filmtalent Zlín (Czech Republic).
„We shot the film in the summer of 2022 and right now we are finishing the editing. The completion of the film is planned for June 2023. We are looking for a festival release and distributors,“ said producer Nataša Jurčová Findrová from FTF VŠMU.
