At the 31st IFF Art Film the Blue Angel / FIPRESCI Award is being presented for the very first time. The independent jury—members of the International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI)—honours films that excel artistically, technically or thematically. This year’s jurors are Mária Ferenčuhová (Slovakia), Jonathan Murray (United Kingdom) and Malik Berkati (based in Berlin).
The jury will evaluate three titles in the International Feature Film Competition—Toxic, Perla and DJ Ahmet—alongside three films in the International Competition of Films from Central & Eastern Europe—It’s Not My Film, Chronicle and Honeymoon. Within the Slovak Season section they will also consider two feature-length titles: The Sluggard Clan and Shadow of Victory.
Jonathan Murray
Professor of Film Theory, History and Criticism at the University of Edinburgh; author of several noted film-studies volumes; contributing editor at Cineaste and co-editor of the Journal of British Cinema and Television.
Jonathan, how did your interest in film criticism develop, and what brought you onto the Art Film jury?
“It began in my teens when I worked as a projectionist. From the booth I suddenly saw dozens of films from places and cultures I’d never imagined, and I was hooked. Everything since has grown out of that moment.”
How does the Art Film programme compare with other festivals you’ve attended?
“Its great strength is the window it opens onto European cinema I’d never catch at home in the UK. It’s not only individual titles; it’s access to the film culture of Slovakia and its neighbours.”
What is the biggest challenge when judging films?
“Balancing my own taste with the perspectives of colleagues I’ve just met. That dialogue—both human and cinematic—is demanding and hugely rewarding.”
What role does film criticism play today?
“We are the bridge. We give filmmakers the audience’s response and offer viewers a wider context—because, first and foremost, critics are viewers too.”
As a FIPRESCI juror here, what matters most?
“I try to hold on to the exact feeling the film left me—what it made me feel, show, teach. That vivid memory is my compass when we deliberate.”
Your toughest challenge in choosing a winner—cultural perspectives or craft?
“Ultimately craft and artistry. Through them we can read the filmmaker’s cultural background; without them, nothing else stands.”
What change in cinema over the past decade has surprised you most?
“Perhaps the lack of change: despite endless streaming series, filmmakers still believe in one distilled 80- to 120-minute story experienced together in a specific place and time. I hope that never disappears.”
Mária Ferenčuhová: “Our only criterion is to decide freely according to our taste and professional experience—and from that a good film will emerge as the winner.”
Poet, translator and film theorist; author/editor of three monographs on film and five poetry collections; lecturer at the Academy of Arts in Banská Bystrica and researcher at the Slovak Film Institute.
Mária, what led you to film criticism and what fascinates you about judging films?
“It started during screenwriting studies when I realised scriptwriting isn’t the same as literary writing. I needed a finished film to write about, so criticism became the answer while I ‘grew into’ screenwriting—or found something else to do.”
How do you view Slovak cinema today, and what could raise its international profile even further?
“Our animated, documentary and fiction films already earn festival attention and awards. What distributors and the industry still need is to woo Slovak audiences—work with target groups and draw them into the cinema experience. Many people here still think Slovak cinema isn’t worth much; that has to change.”
When you evaluate a film, which aspect weighs most—originality, acting or technique?
“A film is the sum of all its parts. If only the camera dazzles, something’s missing. In outstanding films everything is balanced—or, if something is deliberately rough, I ask why. Clear intent makes the film more compelling.”
When was the last time a film completely surprised you and changed your view of cinema?
“My formative shocks came between seventeen and twenty-five—Pasolini’s Teorema, Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange, films by Lars von Trier and Agnès Varda, the entire French New Wave. It still happens, though less often; today’s films can be more visceral—I sometimes react physically, which never happened in my youth.”
What does it mean to sit on the FIPRESCI jury at Art Film, and how does the experience compare with other festivals?
“It’s huge—because FIPRESCI now has a Slovak competition, and at Art Film, one of my favourite festivals. I’ve worked here in many roles, and the festival has accompanied my whole professional life.”
As a juror, what is most important when judging competition films?
“We try to stay open, without preset criteria. We discuss how each of us perceives the films and compare our viewer, cultural and human experiences. If we disagree, we’re ready to argue—in love and respect.”
Your biggest challenge in deciding a winner?
“Every case is different: we each bring distinct backgrounds and tastes. This is my first purely critical jury, so we share the basics and judge only the finished work, less influenced by cultural policy. Openness and freedom are essential.”
Which changes in cinema over the past ten years have surprised you most?
“I don’t think cinema has changed radically since digitalisation settled in. Grainy or video textures are now a narrative choice, not a technical necessity. Cinema is still young; what changes most is my own perception.”
Malik Berkati: “Film critics should remind people why the big screen is worth it—for the music, the emotions, the experience.”
Swiss journalist and film critic based in Berlin; editor-in-chief of the culture magazine j:mag; long-time juror at festivals across Europe and Asia; member of FIPRESCI, the European Film Academy and the Swiss Association of Film Journalists.
Welcome, Malik. Is this your first time in Slovakia?
“Not quite—I visited Bratislava and Brno back in Czechoslovak days. But it’s my first time in Košice.”
How do you find the festival atmosphere?
“Fantastic—warm and relaxed. I love it.”
How does one become a FIPRESCI member?
“First join your national critics’ association; that association must belong to FIPRESCI.”
How is the collaboration within your jury?
“Great. Being a panel of critics means we share a similar professional lens. We don’t always agree, but we look from the same angle.”
What do you focus on when watching a film?
“Everything—from direction and script to acting, light and sound. A critic can’t isolate just one strand.”
Do streaming platforms and AI-generated reviews affect your work?
“Yes. Streaming makes it our task to remind people why cinema matters: the sound, the emotions, the communal big-screen experience. AI can draft a review, but it lacks heart. Criticism is passion, not science.”
Do you set criteria before judging films?
“None. We walk in open and let the film speak to us.”
Your favourite film?
“It changes daily—today, Wim Wenders’s Wings of Desire; tomorrow, who knows.”
If you could change the ending of a famous film, would you?
“No. Even a ‘bad’ ending is the director’s responsibility—it’s not my story.”
Your first strong cinema memory?
“Going to Star Wars with my father—without my mother and sister. I still remember it vividly.”
When did you decide to become a film critic?
“I’m not sure I ‘decided’. I loved films, skipped lectures to catch afternoon screenings, studied political science, became a journalist and realised film was my passion. Having another field helps you explore cinema’s world.”
How has the film landscape changed during your career?
“I avoid watching films on platforms. Some platform productions try to pass as cinema art, but they feel fake. People are returning to theatres—they want the big screen and shared emotions. I’m not convinced streaming is the future.”
Are classic films at festivals important for younger audiences?
“Absolutely. Classics were shot for the big screen; if they’re in good shape or restored, they must be seen in a cinema.”
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
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