The International Feature Film Competition at the 31st IFF Art Film opens doors for emerging filmmakers—female directors and male directors alike—presenting their first, second, or third feature. The competition line-up was selected by Artistic Director Martin Palúch, and the winners—including the Blue Angel for Best Feature Film—will be decided by a jury of distinguished film personalities with diverse backgrounds. The three-member jury is composed of Glória Halász, Alexandre O. Philippe, and Marko Škop—filmmakers whose work moves along the borders of genres, themes, and continents.
Glória Halász, a Hungarian director known for her poetic documentaries poised between reality and fantasy, is currently preparing her first narrative feature. The films that resonate with her most combine a reflection of the contemporary world with hope: “I deeply value films that not only depict the problems of our reality but also bring light, hope, and perhaps even love into it. I’m fascinated by contrasts and magical realism—I love it when reality and fantasy coexist.” According to Halász, Slovak and Hungarian cinema share a distinctive sense of humor as a way to survive everyday problems. If her own life became a film, she says it would be “romantic magical realism, but profound.”
American film essayist Alexandre O. Philippe—known for works such as 78/52 (2017) and Memory: The Origins of Alien (2019)—is presenting his latest film, Chain Reactions (2024), which pays homage to the legendary horror classic The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974), screened this year at IFF Art Film in the Night Screening section. “Some films transcend cinema and become cultural events. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is a master class in making a great film on a minimal budget. It’s an outstanding horror movie—but above all, an outstanding film.” In an interview for the festival’s television channel, he shared how he feels as a juror in the International Feature Film Competition: “Above all, it’s a great honor to be here and to be part of the jury. Glória Halász and Marko Škop are wonderful, very pleasant, and the films we’ve seen have truly impressed me. It’s an excellently curated selection. I’m looking forward to presenting the awards.”
Completing the jury that will decide the prestigious Blue Angel awards is Slovak director, screenwriter, and producer Marko Škop, renowned for his distinctive authorial work on the border of documentary and fiction. His films Other Worlds and Osadné achieved success both at home and internationally, as did his fiction features Eva Nová and Let There Be Light, which offer intimate insights into Slovak society. All his feature films have been nominated for or have won the national film award Sun in a Net and regularly attract attention at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. As a jury member, Škop also reflects on current distribution challenges: “The whole environment has undoubtedly changed significantly with the advent of streaming platforms, especially from the audience’s perspective. Their habits have changed. Today we can watch anything we want, whenever we want, in the comfort of our homes. Perhaps that’s why film festivals make even more sense. Because at home you often don’t even know what to choose—what to put on Netflix or Max or whatever all those platforms are called. If no one recommends it to you—a friend, an acquaintance, or if you don’t read on social media that it’s worth it—you often just don’t watch it. At a film festival the selection is made for you by the festival programmer, based on what they consider interesting or worthy of attention. And thanks to them you end up seeing that film.” In his own viewing preferences, Marko Škop remains faithful to films that provoke reflection and inner unrest: “I like it when a film pokes me, maybe even frustrates me—but precisely because of that it forces me to think. Those are the ones that stay with me the longest.”
The 31st IFF ART FILM is made possible thanks to the support of:
Organizer: ART FILM FEST s.r.o.
Co-organizers: Mesto Košice · K13 – Košické kultúrne centrá · Visit Košice · ART FILM FEST, n.o. · LGM, s.r.o. · FORLIVE
Financial support: Audiovizuálny fond · Nadácia SPP
Co-financed by: Košický samosprávny kraj through the Terra Incognita programme
Main Partners: národná lotériová spoločnosť TIPOS · Slovenská elektrizačná prenosová sústava, a.s. · CODES Brand House
Main Media Partners: TV JOJ · Pravda · Eurotelevízia
Automotive Partner: Moris Slovakia
Advertising Partners: Best Press · U. S. Steel Košice · ANTIK telecom · Kino Úsmev · LOKO TRANS Media · CORE Labs · Technická univerzita v Košiciach
Technology Partners: NOV · ZEBRA · Deutsche Telekom Systems Solutions Slovakia · T4H · LEDGO · DELTA OnLine · ARICOMA · TelekomCLOUD
Official Suppliers: DKC Veritas · Kaviareň Slávia · PLOOM · Krušovice BOHÉM · pramenitá voda Lucka · DOMOS SLOVAKIA · Reštaurácia Contessa · Aupark Shopping Center Košice · Pierre Baguette · Julius Meinl · Red Fox Golf Club
Official wines: Kubbo Select · Ostrožovič
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Partners: JOJ Cinema · Jojko · Veľvyslanectvo Indie v Bratislave · Carmeuse Slovakia · DDDental · TINY Houses · ECO Technologies · Letisko Košice · Local Nomad Tours · Slovenský filmový ústav · Taper · YumEarth · Puella vône · Kvety Garomi · čLOVEčina hra · Rakúske kultúrne fórum · TESCO Store SK · CPK Transport · Tabačka Kulturfabrik · King Media · Východoslovenské múzeum v Košiciach · Letní filmová škola · KPK Reklama · MIHYRING · Zoberma taxi · Hair Factory Košice · Veľvyslanectví České republiky v Bratislavě
Gastronomy Partners: Pub u Kohúta · El Nacional · OhniskO Fire Dining & Brew Bar · Maiko Sushi · Macarons Košice · šum vináreň · Café de Paris · Casa Trade – Casablanca cafe · TATRATEA · Moritz Eis
