“Starting with this edition, IFF ART FILM is introducing the Milan Lasica Award, an honorary tribute bestowed in memoriam on towering legends of Slovak screen acting. In spirit it continues the President’s Award that our festival’s only president, the unforgettable Milan Lasica, presented during his lifetime. We feel both honoured and obliged to carry his legacy forward. The new award will be a dignified reminder not only of our late president, but also of those actors we never managed to recognise before they left for that great stage in the sky,” says the festival’s artistic director Martin Palúch.
The very first Milan Lasica Award, presented in 2025 to mark the 90th anniversary of his birth, goes to the phenomenal Ivan Mistrík—one of Slovakia’s most gifted film actors, who enriched national cinema with unforgettable roles in such classics as A Higher Principle (1960) , The Copper Tower (1970), Eagle Feather (1972), Captain Dabac (1959), Midnight Mass (1962) and many others.
Where to see Mistrík’s films at this year’s festival
| Date & Time | Venue | Film |
|---|---|---|
| 20 June · 17:00 | Kino Veritas | A Higher Principle (Vyšší princíp) |
| 24 June · 16:00 | Kino Úsmev | The Archimedean Principle (Archimedov zákon) |
| 27 June · 16:00 | Kino Úsmev – Impulz | Luck Will Come on Sunday (Šťastie príde v nedeľu) |
We discussed Ivan Mistrík with his niece Zuzana Mistríková, who, together with the family, selected the three titles above for festival audiences.
What does Ivan Mistrík’s life and work mean to you personally?
Ivan was one of my father’s two brothers. As Dad says, “Ivan will always be my elder brother,” even though Dad is now 35 years older than Ivan ever was. Ivan’s extraordinary empathy won the hearts of millions. When director Martin Hollý and I shot a short documentary about him in 2002, people were stunned that two decades had already passed since his death—they still felt he had only just left us. The shock and collective grief back then were enormous. Viewers mainly knew him through his roles—and they loved him for the profound humanity he brought to both dramatic and comic characters.
We’re at a film festival— which of his works still speak to you most, and why?
For me, Ivan will forever be Ryšánek in Jiří Krejčík’s A Higher Principle. But also Miško in Ján Lacko’s comedy Luck Will Come on Sunday. And of course, the very essence of acting camaraderie shared by the legendary “grandfathers” Štefan Kvietik, Ivan Rajniak and Ivan Mistrík is immortalised in Martin Hollý’s The Copper Tower. Still, there’s a whole array of remarkable dramatic works where his talent shines—let me name at least Hollý’s The Ballad of the Seven Hanged, Pavel Haspra’s The Picture of Dorian Gray and Miloš Pietor’s Twelve Angry Men.
For Art Film you chose the little-known satire The Archimedean Principle. Why that film?
It’s an amazing, little-seen 1964 satire by Andrej Lettrich that has become painfully topical again. The unassuming civil servant Javorník, whom fate toys with, is almost an archetype of the characters Ivan played—and the reason audiences adored him.
How did the family react to Ivan becoming the first Milan Lasica Award laureate?
We were, of course, delighted that Ivan remains so “present” in Slovak cinema. Interestingly, you could hardly find two actors more different than Ivan Mistrík and Milan Lasica—yet they respected one another, and this “meeting” would certainly have pleased them both.
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
Media Partners: JOJ play · JOJ 24 · Film Europe · Rádio KOŠICE · Aktuality.sk · Forbes · Startitup.sk · Korzár · Slovenka · SITA · TASR · Mediaboard · See & Go · Česko-Slovenská filmová databáze – ČSFD · BigMedia · Košice City Guide · Košice v skratke · Film.sk · diva.sk · koktejl.sk · zenskyweb.sk · MOJAkultúra · Kino Sterio · Dopravný podnik mesta Košice · AHOJ TV
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
