Ivan Trojan, one of the most respected and prolific Czech actors, and Ondrej Šulaj, writer of numerous major Slovak films, will personally accept their awards at the 22nd annual Art Film Fest, held from 21 to 27 June in Trenčianske Teplice and Trenčín. Every year, Slovakia’s biggest cinematic showcase honours distinguished figures of domestic and world film with the Actor’s Mission Award and the Golden Camera, recognizing their extraordinary contributions to cinema.
This year’s addition to the Actor’s Mission pantheon is one of the most recognizable faces of Czech film—Ivan Trojan, who will personally place a bronze plaque bearing his name in Trenčianske Teplice’s Festival Park, alongside world-renowned Actor’s Mission laureates such as Ben Kingsley, Gérard Depardieu, Franco Nero and Jean-Paul Belmondo, as well as Czech colleagues like Vlastimil Brodský, Iva Janžurová, Dagmar Veškrnová-Havlová and Jiřina Bohdalová.
The Golden Camera will acknowledge Slovak screenwriting legend and rector of Bratislava’s Academy of Performing Arts Ondrej Šulaj, who will thus join the ranks of film giants such as Emir Kusturica, Juraj Herz, Ulrich Seidl, Dušan Hanák, Andrzej Wajda, Roman Polanski and Jiří Menzel.
“Ivan Trojan shines in most likely every film he has appeared in, and it is his original and professionally dedicated approach to his roles that has earned him the Actor’s Mission Award,” says Peter Hledík, Art Film Fest’s vice president and director of the Actor’s Mission and Golden Camera awards. Trojan has over one hundred film roles and television appearances under his belt, and directors refer to him as the best actor of his generation.
“[Trojan] once said: ‘Everyone thinks a film should be earth-shattering, or compete with big commercial pictures and make the cast and crew rich. But European cinema has to take an entirely different direction…’ One such direction is exemplified by screenwriter, dramatist and teacher Ondrej Šulaj, which is why he so deserves the Golden Camera,” says Peter Hledík.
The Slovak cinema landscape would be incomplete without Ondrej Šulaj and his uncompromising views. In 1974 he earned a degree in film and television directing and screenwriting at the Theatre Faculty of Bratislava’s Academy of Performing Arts, and since then he has moved freely between film, theatre and television.
Šulaj has written the screenplays to numerous films and worked with the best-known Slovak directors of the 80s and 90s. “I work brilliantly with Martin Šulík. He’s the one director I’ve done multiple films with. We have a good rapport, and sometimes it gets to the point that we even think alike. We see the world and things around us in a similar way, and I like when that’s conveyed in our films,” explains Šulaj. He is currently president of the Slovak Film and Television Academy, which grants the national Sun in a Net film prizes.
The names of the remaining award recipients will be announced by Peter Hledík, Art Film Fest’s vice-president and director of the Actor’s Mission Award and the Golden Camera, at a press conference before the start of the festival. ______________________________________________________________
Art Film Fest 2014 – the 22nd International Trenčianske Teplice/Trenčín Film Festival
Organizers: ART FILM, n.o., FORZA, a.s.
Co-organizers: The Town of Trenčianske Teplice, the City of Trenčín, Kúpele Trenčianske Teplice
The festival is held under the auspices of Prime Minister of the Slovak Republic Robert Fico.
Financial Support: the Audiovisual Fund
Main sponsors: Slovenská elektrizačná prenosová sústava, SLOVNAFT
Official transport provider: Hyundai
Logistics sponsor: DHL
Student cinepasses for just €5 provided by: Prvá stavebná sporiteľňa (First Housing-Construction Savings Bank)
Sponsors: DWC Slovakia, SEVITECH, LGM, Slovak Telekom
Official suppliers: Hutira Wine, Moët, Barzzuz, ad one, AVI Studio, Tuli
Main media partners: Slovak Radio and Television, Rádio FM, Pravda
Media partners: Film Europe Channel, Central Europe Television, Rádio Anténa, Rádio Beta, zoznam.sk, Eurotelevízia, Forbes, OK!, Kam do mesta, GONG SK, Film.sk, webnoviny.sk, BigMedia
Partners: the European Commission Representation in Slovakia, the Slovak Film Institute, Hotel Flora, the Slovak Film Club Association
