The Visegrad Film Forum provides informal education and networking opportunities for a broad international audience. Participants can enjoy four amazing days of learning and networking, student film screenings, masterclasses with renowned experts, case studies of interesting film projects, and discussions. “A film is always the result of teamwork. Participants will be able to share their filmmaking ideas and visions with established professionals in a very informal atmosphere. The VFF provides students with an alternative to regular professional training, while at the same time enabling the wider public to learn about how films are made – an opportunity which they would not get at ordinary film festivals,” says the director of the Visegrad Film 
Forum, Jakub Viktorín.
The light never lies
José Luis Alcaine is one of Spain’s most distinguished cinematographers, having over 100 credits to his name, including Belle Époque (Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, 1993), Bad Education (2004), and Parallel Mothers (2021). In the 1970s, he pioneered the use of a fluorescent tube as a key lighting tool. José Luis has collaborated with acclaimed directors such as Brian de Palma, Asghar Farhadi, and Pedro Almodóvar. He has received numerous awards, including the European Film Award – Best European Cinematographer for the film Volver (2006) and five Goya Awards for Best Cinematography.
Bringing old-school animation back to light
Mascha Halberstad is a director specialising in stop-motion animation. She has made animations for several feature films, including How To Survive… (2008) and Taking Chances (Berlinale Generation 2012). Both of her feature-length films, Oink (2022) and Fox & Hare Save the Forest (2024), were selected for the Berlinale Generation competition. In addition, Oink (2022) was nominated for a European Film Award. Mascha also made the music video for the song Wild Frontier by The Prodigy.
Collecting pieces of reality
Rúnar Rúnarsson is an acclaimed Icelandic screenwriter and director. Nominated for an Oscar in 2006 and the Palme d’Or and European Film Award in 2008, Rúnar is probably the most awarded short film director of our time. He made his feature debut with Volcano (2011), which was selected for Cannes Directors’ Fortnight. Volcano went on to become a festival darling, collecting 17 international awards. Rúnar’s latest feature film, Echo (2019), won two awards in Locarno. Rúnar was also the screenwriter for Solitude (2023), an Icelandic-Slovak-French co-production that premiered at the Toronto Film Festival. Solitude will be part of the Febiofest festival programme.
Making the material work in a way that wasn’t intended
Tariq Anwar is an Indian-born British-American film editor. Over his 40-year career,
he has edited an assortment of films, from BBC documentaries to fiction films such as the Oscar-winning American Beauty (1999), The Good Shepherd (2006), Revolutionary Road (2008), and Law-Abiding Citizen (2009). Tariq has worked with some of the world’s top directors, such as Mike Newell, Franco Zeffirelli, Nick Hytner, Sam Mendes, Danny Boyle, and Robert De Niro. He has received numerous awards, including two BAFTAs and the European Film Award – Best European Editor for The King’s Speech (2010). He also holds two Academy Award nominations, for The King’s Speech and American Beauty.
Creating different (film) worlds
Peter Suschitzky, A.S.C. is a British cinematographer and photographer who has been director of photography on more than 50 films. His most notable works include such cult classics as Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (1980), The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975), Mars Attacks! (1996), and David Cronenberg’s Crash (1996), eXistenZ (1999), and Eastern Promises (2007). Peter has been nominated for a BAFTA and honoured at the Cannes Film Festival with the Pierre Angénieux “Excellens” in Cinematography Award.
V4 partner schools
The Visegrad Film Forum will once again present films by students from its partner film schools. The screenings will be followed by discussions about cinematography as a whole, about the circumstances under which the individual films emerged, and about the professional training provided at the selected educational institutions. The following V4 film schools have confirmed their participation at this year’s VFF: ELTE, Budapest, Hungary; UTB Zlín, Czech Republic; Lodz Film School, Poland; The Film and Television Faculty, Academy of Performing Arts Bratislava, Slovakia.
Cinepass
Since 2019, the Visegrad Film Forum has been held in collaboration with FEBIOFEST Bratislava IFF (13–16 March). Cinepasses purchased for the VFF are also valid for FEBIOFEST. You can buy your Cinepass at the link below:
Visegrad Film Forum 2024
When: 13–16 March 2024
Where: Bratislava, Slovakia
Web: http://www.visegradfilmforum.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VisegradFilmForum
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vffbratislava/
The Visegrad Film Forum is brought to you by Boiler, o.z., in collaboration with the The Film and Television Faculty, Academy of Performing Arts Bratislava and FEBIOFEST Bratislava IFF. The event is made possible by the financial support of the Slovak Audiovisual Fund.
