In the programme of the 2025 Art Film International Film Festival, a special section entitled György Kristóf Presents, devoted to war cinema, will also take its place, aiming to give audiences a chance to understand armed conflicts throughout history as well as current events in Ukraine and the Middle East. “With so many armed conflicts unfolding around the world today, I conceived this film cycle as a platform for deeper reflection on these issues. Through a range of perspectives, I strive to convey to viewers not only the emotional resonance of war, but also a more nuanced grasp of its context and impact,” says the curator.
The Hungarian classic Somewhere in Europe (1947) tells the story of orphans wandering through the ruins of post-war Hungary. Their fate changes when they come upon the remains of a castle inhabited by a former conductor. Director Géza Radványi, a native of Košice, created one of the most moving films of post-war Europe, screened in more than 50 countries. The film offers not only a realistic portrait of a ravaged land, but also hope and proof of humanity. A newly restored 4 K version will be screened at Art Film.
The legendary war epic Apocalypse Now: The Final Cut (1979) by Francis Ford Coppola will appear at the festival in its definitive restored form. Loosely inspired by Joseph Conrad’s novella Heart of Darkness, the film follows Captain Willard’s psychological journey through the chaos of the Vietnam War. Martin Sheen gives a tour-de-force performance opposite a disturbing Marlon Brando. Considered one of the key figures of the New Hollywood era, Coppola finally realises his vision in the Final Cut. A powerful experience for viewers who wish to grasp the madness of war from the inside. “In 2019 the director added several scenes to the ‘original version’ just as he had always intended. At Art Film you’ll see it on the big screen in a digitally restored 4 K print,” adds György Kristóf. The film won two Oscars and the Palme d’Or in Cannes.
Israeli director Samuel Maoz, famed for Lebanon, returns to the theme of military service and its impact on both individuals and society in Foxtrot. The story of a family who learn of their son’s death is told in three distinct chapters, with the foxtrot dance serving as a metaphor for cyclical trauma. The film won the Grand Jury Prize in Venice. “The film explores how the traumas of Israelis in the past shape present-day anxieties and military actions, creating a society where ‘surviving’ is mistaken for ‘living,’” explains the section’s compiler.
The Ukrainian feature Atlantis (2019) depicts a near future after the war with Russia has ended. In a land scorched by conflict, former soldier Sergiy seeks new meaning—first as a worker in a closed-down plant, later as a volunteer exhuming the bodies of the fallen. Director Valentyn Vasyanovych offers a visually striking, narratively spare portrait of a post-traumatic country struggling to rise from the ashes. György Kristóf notes, “The film delivers a formally bold, dystopian yet realistic vision of a future scarred by war.”
Quo Vadis, Aida? is a powerful drama about the Srebrenica massacre of July 1995, in which Aida, a translator working for the UN, races against time to save her loved ones and fellow citizens from impending catastrophe. The film exposes the failure of the international community and the conversion of protective mechanisms into instruments of breakdown and death. It garnered Oscar and BAFTA nominations and won the Audience Award at the Rotterdam IFF. Director Jasmila Žbanić, winner of the Berlinale’s Golden Bear for her debut Grbavica, has long focused on the war in the former Yugoslavia and its consequences, drawn from her own experience.
György Kristóf, a Slovak film director, was born in Košice. He studied at FAMU in Prague. His feature debut Outpremiered in the Un Certain Regard selection at the 70th Cannes Film Festival. In 2024 Art Film hosted the premiere of his unique dystopian film Zenith.
31st IFF ART FILM is made possible thanks to
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 a Nadácia SPP
The festival is 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 wine: Kubbo Select a Ostrožovič;
Media partners: JOJ play, JOJ 24, Film Europe, Rádio KOŠICE, Aktuality.sk, Forbes, Startitup.sk, Korzár, Slovenka, SITA, TASR, Mediaboard, See & Go, 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, Velvyslanectví České republiky v Bratislavě;
Gastronomic 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.
