On Sunday, 21 June 2026, the evening in Košice was dedicated to the memory of Vlado Müller — an icon of Slovak film acting, who was born ninety years ago, and on Saturday, 20 June, thirty years had passed since his death. The Milan Lasica Award in memoriam, which IFF Art Film Košice has been giving since 2025 to outstanding acting personalities of Slovak cinema on the occasion of an unrealised anniversary, was accepted on behalf of his father, from the hands of Magda Vášaryová, by singer and lyricist Richard Müller. The same evening, the drama Smrť šitá na mieru / Custom Tailored Death, which he personally selected from his father’s rich filmography for the festival programme, was screened at Kino Úsmev. The Historic Town Hall also welcomed Richard Müller as a guest of a special edition of the talk show Dinner with Havran.
For Richard Müller, the choice of a specific title from his father’s filmography was carefully considered. “It’s an excellent film. The direction was wonderfully done by Martin Hollý, the cinematography by Karol Krška, the music by Zdeněk Liška, and my father carries it in an absolutely disciplined acting role. A great subject, based on a true event — something like this really happened a long time ago. I told myself that within my father’s work it might be a lesser-known piece, and that it would be worth letting another circle of viewers see it at this festival,” said Richard Müller. On the question of how much of his father’s personality found its way into his acting roles, Müller answered briefly: “It was always projected there in some way. That is in every case. And this film testifies to that as well.”
Richard Müller is a well-known film enthusiast, and in the interview he once again admitted to a firm place in his rankings for the trilogy by Francis Ford Coppola. “I generally like his films — whether it is The Godfather 1, 2, 3, or The Conversation with Gene Hackman. I am very fond of these films and I like to watch them several times.” To repeated viewings he has a simple comment: “I always find something new there. And I realise just how little wits I have.”
From recent cinema, Steven Spielberg has caught his attention. “I really liked his last film, I admit,” Müller added. Asked what he does when watching a film, he did not hesitate: “I am a viewer. I let myself be carried away by the film.”
Asked what awaits him as a musician in the near future, Richard Müller replied with a laugh: “A great many concerts.” A new album is on the horizon, but he admits: “Sometime next year.”
A repeat screening of the drama Smrť šitá na mieru / Custom Tailored Death will take place on Wednesday, 24 June at 16.00 in the IMPULZ Hall of Kino Úsmev. The complete programme of the 32nd IFF Art Film Košice (19 – 25 June 2026), including the Milan Lasica Award laureate section, can be found at aff.cinepass.sk.
The 32nd IFF ART FILM is being held with the support of:
Main organizer: ART FILM FEST s.r.o.
Co-organizers: City of Košice, K13 – Košice Cultural Centres, Visit Košice, ART FILM FEST, n.o.
With the financial support of: the Slovak Audiovisual Fund
The project was co-financed by the Košice Self-governing Region from the Terra Incognita program
Main partners: CODES Brand House, H2O FUND SICAV, Forstav
Automotive partner: AUTO-VALAS
Official hotel: Hotel Yasmin
Main media partners: TV JOJ, Pravda, Eurotelevízia
Sponsors: U. S. Steel Košice, ANTIK Telecom, Kino Úsmev, LOKO TRANS Media, CORE Labs, Technical University of Košice
Technological partners: NOV, ZEBRA, Deutsche Telekom Systems Solutions Slovakia, DELTA OnLine, ARICOMA, Datacomp
Official suppliers: DKC Veritas, PLOOM, DOMOS SLOVAKIA, Reštaurácia Contessa, Natura, Kinley, Budweiser Budvar, Julius Meinl
Official wine: KubBo Select, Ostrožovič
Media partners: JOJ play, JOJ 24, Film Europe Media Company, Rádio KOŠICE, Aktuality.sk, Forbes, Startitup.sk, Korzár, Slovenka, SITA, TASR, Mediaboard, AHOJ TV, See & Go, BigMedia, Kino Sterio, Košice City Guide, Košice V Skratke, MOJAkultura.sk, Česko-Slovenská filmová databáze – ČSFD, Filmsk.sk, diva.sk, koktejl.sk, zenskyweb.sk, Naše Košice
Partners: JOJ Cinema, Jojko, Slovak Film Institute, WITKOWITZ SLOVAKIA, DDDental, CK TUI ReiseCenter Slovensko, Taper, ECO Technologies, Aupark Shopping Center Košice, Košice Public Transport Company, Košice Airport, YumEarth, Rent2Eat, CPK Transport, iWish.sk, Kvety Garomi, Hair Factory Košice, Face up! Studio by Michaela Petroci, Panta Rhei, ARTFORUM, LOCAL NOMAD, East-Slovak Museum in Košice, MIHYRING
