The 29th edition of the Art Film Fest International Film Festival will take place from 16 to 23 June 2023 in Košice. The non-competitive Panorama program section will offer more than 23 films of various genres and countries of origin, including films that have resonated at prestigious film festivals around the world. Panorama is thus a showcase of the best of world cinematography from 2022 to 2023.
In its distribution preview, Art Film Fest will screen Aftersun by Scottish director Charlotte Wells, which won the BAFTA Award for Best First Feature. The divorced father was played by the Irish actor Paul Mescal, who was nominated for an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award and the European Film Award for the Best Actor.
In Studio 666, legendary rock band Foo Fighters move into a mansion in Encino, shrouded in a horrific rock ‘n’ roll history, to record their much-anticipated tenth album. The American horror comedy was directed by BJ McDonnell and starred former Nirvana drummer and current Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl and his bandmates.
The winning film of this year’s Berlin IFF, On the Adamant, which was awarded the Golden Bear at Berlinale, tells the story of a unique centre for the mentally ill. Director Nicolas Philibert invites the audience on board to meet both the patients and the nurses who, day after day, create life in the extraordinary hospital.
The much adored and inimitable Penélope Cruz dominates the screen in L’immensità. In the role of the lonely wife Clara, she is transported to Italy in the 1970s, where she experiences a marital crisis. No longer in love, but unable to separate, Clara finds refuge from loneliness in a specific relationship with her three children.
Panorama also offers an insight into contemporary documentary filmmaking. The Ukrainian director of Belarusian origin Sergei Loznitsa is characterized by his work with archival film materials, from which he creates new cinematic masterpieces by means of editing. The Natural History of Destruction, Loznitsa’s most symphonic editing film, is inspired by W. G. Sebald’s collection of essays of the same name, which criticizes the lack of attention paid to the civilian casualties of the mass bombing of German cities by the Allies during World War II.
Documentary filmmakers Axel Danielson and Maximilien Van Aertryck point their cameras directly at society to explore, explain and reveal how our unchecked obsession with the image has evolved into a change in human behaviour. In Fantastic Machine, the filmmakers raise the question of the societal implications resulting from the visual output of the 45 billion cameras on the Internet, which contribute to the 500 hours of video uploaded every minute to the Internet. The film won the Special Jury Prize for World Documentary at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival.
The fathers of social drama, the Dardenne brothers, come up with a new film, Tori and Lokita, exploring the theme of immigrants from Africa. A boy and a teenage girl from Africa confront their invincible friendship with the harsh conditions of exile in present-day Belgium.
You can also look forward to other striking films in the Panorama section
- Asteroid City (had its world premiere at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival inthe main competition, it features actors such as T. Hanks, S. Johanson, E. Norton, J. Schwartzman, J. Wright, T. Swindon
- Blackbird Blackbird Blackberry (had its world premiere at the IFF in Cannes 2023 in the Directors’ Fortnight section)
- Czechoslovak Fairy Tale (director Ch. Paigneau will present the film in person at the festival)
- Sister & Sister
- Exodus
- The Goldman Case (opening filmof the Directors’ Fortnight section at the IFF in Cannes 2023)
- Working Class Heroes
- When the Waves Are Gone
- We Might as Well Be Dead
- Beau Is Afraid (starring Joaquin Phoenix)
- A Brighter Tomorrow (had its world premiere in the main competition of the 2023 Cannes Film Festival, Slovak actress Barbora Bobuľová appeared in a supporting role)
- The Silent Twins
- More Than Ever
- Godland
- The Burdened
- 13 Exorcisms
More information about the films, the festival program, how to book and buy cinepasses for individual screenings and events at https://aff.cinepass.sk/sk/ and www.artfilmfest.sk
Organisation: ART FILM FEST s.r.o.;
Co-organizers: City of Košice, K13 – Košice Cultural Centres, ART FILM FEST, n.o., LGM, s.r.o.;
The festival was financially supported by: Audiovisual Fund and SPP Foundation;
The festival is co-financed by the Košice self-governing region from the Terra Incognita program;
Main advertising partners: CODES Brand House, FORLIVE, Lucka spring water;
Official vehicles: Auto Gábriel;
Official hotel: Hotel Yasmin;
Advertising partners: construction company Adefex, Jadrová a vyraďovacia spoločnosť, a.s., Oxyworld, U.S. Steel Košice, ANTIK Telecom, BARZZUZ, Cinema Úsmev, Aupark Košice, Fors-stav, R-media, Okno mé lásky;
Official contractors: NOV, ZEBRA, Best Press, SLOVNAFT, Central European Foundation, Spoločnosť pre skladovanie, a.s., DKC Veritas, Slávia Café, Tabačka Kulturfabrik, Ohnisko – Fire Dining & Brew Bar, Pub u Kohúta, El Nacional, Café de Paris, Maiko Sushi, DOMOS Slovakia, Pilsner Urquell, Macarons; Official wine: Kubbo Select and Ostrožovič;
Main media partners: TV JOJ, zregionu.sk, Pravda, Eurotelevision;
Media partners: Rozhlas a televízia Slovenska, Kinosála, JOJ 24, Film Europe, TV spolok LOToS, Rádio KOŠICE, Korzár, Slovenka, Forbes, SITA, TASR, BigMedia, HomeMedia Production, Film.sk, Košice City Guide, aktuality.sk, csfd.cz, Visit Košice, Košice v Skratke;
Partners: JOJ Cinema, Millor – your partner in the energy sector, Košice Airport, Autocont, TelekomCLOUD, ECO Technologies, DELTA OnLine, MIHYRING, KAIFER law firm, Taper, Brother, GROTTO, CELIMED authorized OMRON representation, NR-holding, CPK Slovakia, Casa Trade – Casablanca cafe, easylog transport&logistic, Flowers Victor, Slovak Film Institute, Faculty of Philosophy, Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Informatics TUKE, Private Secondary Art Schoolin Košice, Košice Transport Company, Tesco Stores SK, DEMI sport, CANON, SPI International, Arténa audiovisual workshop by RTVS, Creative Europe, KPK Reklama, HAIR FACTORY Košice
Festival restaurants and bars: JAZZ Club Café Restaurant, Hostinec Brewery, Papa Café, Camelot Restaurant, Veritas Café
