Milan Kňažko (1945) began performing as early as secondary school, but prior to his acceptance into the acting program at the Academy of Performing Arts, he tried his hand at stagecraft and mining. After four years of study he earned a scholarship to study at the University of Nancy’s international theatre academy in France. When he returned to Slovakia, he worked with Bratislava’s Divadlo na Korze and Nová scéna theatre troupes, and from 1985 at the Slovak National Theatre, where he acted until 1990. Apart from his theatre work, he also appeared often onscreen, starting in 1965 with Dimitrij Plichta’s Šerif za mrežami (The Sheriff Behind Bars), a dramatic story set in a youth correctional facility . He gave striking performances in films such as Nevesta hôľ (The Bride of the Mountains, d. M. Ťapák, 1971), Zánik samoty Berhof (End of the Lonely Farm Berghof, d. J. Svoboda, 1983), Dobří holubi se vracejí (Good Pigeons Return, d. D. Klein, 1988) and Papilio (d. J. Svoboda, 1986), which the actor himself selected for screening at Art Film Fest.
In addition to acting, he has also pursued politics since 1989. He was the only person in the pre-revolution Czechoslovak Socialist Republic to return his title of artist emeritus, due to his disagreement with the politics of the regime, and in November 1989 he officially entered politics, co-founding the organization “Verejnosť proti násiliu” (The Public Against Violence). Václav Havel, the first post-November president, selected him as an advisor. Later he became the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Slovak Republic and subsequently the Minister of Culture.
At the end of the 1990s he returned to acting, starting onstage. In a production of Yasmina Reza’s “Art”, he performed alongside Milan Lasica and Marián Labuda at Prague’s Ungelt theatre, taking the role of the Spanish painter Pablo Picasso under the directorial guidance of Jiří Svoboda, with whom he had made his best films. He also became the general director of JOJ Television. His latest feature film to date is the 2009 thriller Normal from director Július Ševčík.
The Art Film Fest International Film Festival Trenčianske Teplice/Trenčín is made possible through the financial support of the Audiovisual Fund and the European Union Programme MEDIA.
Organizers: ART FILM, n. o., Forza, a. s. Co-organizers: the Town of Trenčianske Teplice, the City of Trenčín, the Trenčianske Teplice Health Spa General Sponsors: Dôvera Medical Insurance, AquaCity Poprad Main Sponsors: Tatra banka, Slovnaft, Veolia Voda – Central Slovakian Waterworks, OHL ŽS, Alison Slovakia; Official Transport Provider: Lancia Logistics Sponsor: DHL; Free student cinepasses provided by: Prvá stavebná sporiteľňa (First Housing-Construction Savings Bank) Sponsor of the Slovak Season section: Zlatý Bažant; Sponsors: AVI Studio, Baske Guest House, Park Hotel na Baračke Official Suppliers: HUBERT J.E., Kláštorná, GS design, Philips Media Sponsors: Slovak Television, Markíza Television, FilmBox, CSTV, Central Europe Television, Rádio Europa 2, Rádio Hit FM, Pravda, .týždeň, Markíza, Pardon, Cinemax, Kam do mesta, zoznam.sk, Boomerang Media, SITA, euroAWK, superobed.sk
