At the 31st IFF Art Film this year, the Blue Angel / FIPRESCI Prize is being presented for the very first time, based on the decisions of a FIPRESCI jury. The members of this independent jury belong to the International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI – Fédération Internationale de la Presse Cinématographique) and focus on honouring films that excel in artistic, technical, or thematic quality. This year’s jury consists of Mária Ferenčuhová, Jonathan Murray from the United Kingdom, and Berlin-based Malik Berkati.
The jury will evaluate three titles from the International Competition of Feature Films — Toxic, Perla, and DJ Ahmet — as well as three films from the International Competition of Central and Eastern European Films — It’s Not My Film, Chronicle, and Honeymoon. In the Slovak Season section, the jury will assess two feature-length pictures: The Sluggard Clan and Team Havnaa.
Mária, what first drew you to film criticism, and what fascinates you most about judging films?
It all started with screenwriting when I was a student and realised that writing a screenplay isn’t the same as writing literature. I discovered that what I could do with films wasn’t to write something that might one day become a film, but rather to take a finished film and shape it into text I could be happy with. Criticism was basically a solution born of necessity — once I understood that I perhaps still needed to mature as a screenwriter or do something else altogether.
How do you see the Slovak film industry today, and what should it do to gain greater international recognition?
Slovak cinema already enjoys international recognition — our animated, documentary, and fiction films catch the eye of festivals, they’re invited, placed in competitions, and they win awards. What distributors and the industry itself could do differently is to deliberately entice audiences into cinemas: learn to work with the target group a film is intended for and draw that group into the viewing experience. Although things are changing, I still sense a distorted view in Slovakia that our national cinema isn’t worth much. Perhaps it’s a side-effect of frequent TV-series watching or the fact that only a small slice of the population is in the habit of going to the cinema.
When judging films, what do you focus on most — originality, acting, or technical aspects?
A film is a complex of all those elements, and I can’t fully separate them. The camera work or the film’s formal treatment might captivate me, but if that’s the only strong side, it means something’s missing. When I consider a film truly outstanding, all these aspects are usually in balance. If one is deliberately suppressed — if the film feels dirty, raw — I ask myself what intent lies behind that. When that intention is clear, or dawns on me while watching, I take it as something that helps make the film even more engaging and impactful for the viewer.
When was the last time a film completely surprised you and changed your view of cinema?
I think those surprises come mainly when you’re young — my formative viewing years were roughly between seventeen and twenty-five. I remember films like Pasolini’s Teorema, Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange, works by Lars von Trier, by Agnès Varda, or the whole French New Wave; they shaped me greatly and influenced my later critical tastes. It still happens today, though: sometimes I react to a film physically, which didn’t happen to me in my youth. Perhaps it’s because contemporary films use different means; they’re more visceral, aimed at both body and mind. Films can still surprise me, just less often. But I haven’t reached the stage of feeling I’ve seen everything.
What does being part of the FIPRESCI jury at IFF Art Film mean to you, and how does this experience compare with other festivals?
Being on a FIPRESCI jury is a big deal. I don’t mean globally renowned festivals, but the fact that we have a FIPRESCI competition in Slovakia, specifically at Art Film, matters to me. Art Film is one of my favourite festivals. When I was a first-year university student, I did exactly the job you’re doing now. This festival has accompanied my professional life ever since — as journalist, industry-section participant, juror, or audience member. My son practically grew up at Art Film, and so did I, professionally.
As a FIPRESCI juror at IFF Art Film — what do you see as the most important aspect when judging competition films?
We’re a jury that tries to stay open-minded and unprejudiced, so we set no criteria in advance. Some films we might already have seen at other festivals, but many are new to me. We discuss how my two colleagues perceive them — for instance, how they see the new Slovak film by Rasťo Boroš, which is unique by our standards yet linked to many contemporary and older works that serve us as historical and aesthetic references. We compare our viewing, cultural, and human experiences. It’s a constant work in progress. If we have differing opinions on a film, we’re ready to argue — with love and respect. But so far, after spending several days together, I feel we’re more likely to agree than clash.
What are your biggest challenges when deciding on a winner? Is it comparing different cultural perspectives, technical factors, or artistic ones?
It’s always individual, case by case. Everyone comes with a different professional background, set of preferences, genre and aesthetic taste. This is my first purely critical jury, so from that angle we’re rather similarly configured. We don’t need to argue over whether a film is well post-produced. We can appreciate good sound design even if we don’t see into every phase of production or post-production. We judge only the result. Perhaps we’re less influenced by funding criteria or cultural-policy demands. For me it’s about openness and freedom — which doesn’t directly answer the question of criteria, but if our criterion is the freedom to decide according to our tastes, viewing experiences, and professional expertise, then only a good film can emerge as the winner.
What changes in cinema over the past ten years have surprised you most?
I don’t think cinema has fundamentally changed in the past decade. Once digitisation took hold and we no longer had to confront video material being blown up to 35 mm – which used to be a production necessity rather than an avant-garde gesture, especially in Slovakia – things stabilised. Today a grainy or video look is more a narrative or avant-garde decision; it doesn’t feel unexpected. Cinema is still a very young art with many historical phases and cycles, but nothing in recent years has shocked me. Yet, as I mentioned about the bodily viewing experience, I’ve noticed a pushing of boundaries aimed much more at the body — or maybe I’m just more sensitive to such films, and these devices were used before. If I recall experimental works where a director strapped a camera to his leg, or tight shots of a rippling sea that induce nausea — those techniques existed long ago. I’m more inclined to track how my own perception of cinema changes than to evaluate shifts in Slovak or world filmmaking.
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
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