As in previous years, the centrepiece of the 20th Art Film Fest, running from 16 to 23 June in Tren\u010dianske Teplice and Tren\u010d\u00edn, will be the International Competition of Feature Films, a cinematic showdown juxtaposing the work of some of the world\u2019s most talented directors. Aside from the power and humanity of their narratives, the competing films also share heaps of awards from renowned international festivals such as Sundance, Locarno and the Berlinale. At this year\u2019s Art Film Fest, 12 pictures will vie for the festival trophy \u2013 the Blue Angel.<\/p>\n
One of the competition\u2019s major attractions is the Danish film Teddy Bear, which earned director Mads Matthiesen the Directing Award at this year\u2019s Sundance, the top American independent film festival. It tells the story of a man with a rugged face, but a delicate heart: 38-year-old bodybuilder Dennis, who lives alone with his imperious mother. He longs to break free from their unhealthy relationship and finally live on his own two feet. One day he decides to change his life, embarking on a quest for love that takes him all the way to Thailand. \u201cMost of the actors in the film are real people (\u2018non actors\u2019)\u2026Working mostly with amateurs was a big challenge but also a gift, because you get a great deal of authenticity when you work with real people in real environments,\u201d says Matthiesen. His short film Dennis, which Teddy Bear is based on, won the Grand Prix at the 2008 Melbourne IFF. <\/p>\n
Another film to arrive at Art Film Fest festooned with awards is Justin Kurzel\u2019s Snowtown, internationally premiered at Cannes’s Critics Week, where it won the International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI) Prize, in addition to six Australian Film Institute awards in 2012, including Best Film. The picture\u2019s protagonist, 16-year-old Jamie, is taken under the wing of John, his mother’s dominant new boyfriend. The false hero leads the teenager into an unstoppable spiral of ever-deepening horror, as Jamie becomes accomplice to an orgy of torture and murder. Most horrifying of all, the film is based on the actual crimes of an Australian serial killer, discovered in 1999 when police found barrels full of decomposing body parts in the rural community of Snowtown. But far from being a sensationalistic rehash of the shocking murders, Kurzel\u2019s cinematic treatment is a dark exploration of social dependence, drug addiction, domestic violence, brutality and sexual abuse.<\/p>\n
For a truly unusual experience, turn to French director Val\u00e9rie Massadian\u2019s Nana, winner of Locarno\u2019s award for best first film and the Grand Jury Award for best film at the Istanbul IFF. The picture is shot from the perspective of four-year-old Nana, who comes home one day to find her house inexplicably empty. But even without her mother, she dresses herself, heads into the woods, jumps over a stream, eats a sandwich\u2026 This intimate and remarkable debut is a minimalist depiction of childhood in all of its variety and elusiveness. <\/p>\n
The competition will also feature last year\u2019s best Polish film, Rose from director Wojciech Smarzowski. The picture won all the top prizes at the Polish Eagle Awards, as well as the Grand Prix at the Warsaw FF. Set in 1945, the film begins with Tadeusz, a former Home Army (AK) soldier who lost everything in the war. Journeying across the countryside, he arrives at the home of a German soldier\u2019s widow. Rose gives him a frosty welcome, but Tadeusz wins her trust by helping around the farm. In a landscape ravaged by war, an impossible love is born between two people from completely separate worlds.<\/p>\n
Entering Art Film Fest\u2019s competition with the Berlinale\u2019s Silver Bear in tow, the Swiss-French co-production Sister is a portrait of a boy on the brink of puberty, poised between deceit and an unquenchable need for love. The Russian film Twilight Portrait won Thessaloniki\u2019s Golden Alexander for best director, along with the Film Critics Award, and at Cottbus it won the Grand Prix for best film. It centres on Marina, an upper-class professional whose marriage is in a state of crisis. After being brutally attacked and raped by three policemen, she begins to reassess her life. Israel will also be represented in the competition, by the fascinating Sharqiya, the story of a Bedouin living in Israel who hatches a plan to save his ancestral home, scheduled for demolition by the government. <\/p>\n
Art Film Fest 2012 \u2013 the 20th International Tren\u010dianske Teplice\/Tren\u010d\u00edn Film Festival
The festival is held under the auspices of Prime Minister of the Slovak Republic Robert Fico.<\/p>\n
Organizers: ART FILM, n.o., FORZA, a.s.<\/p>\n
Co-organizers: The Town of Tren\u010dianske Teplice, the City of Tren\u010d\u00edn, K\u00fapele Tren\u010dianske Teplice
Financial Support: The Audiovisual Fund<\/p>\n
General Sponsors: KOOPERATIVA pois\u0165ov\u0148a Vienna Insurance Group, Privatbanka<\/p>\n
Main Sponsors: Omnia Holding SE, Slovnaft, AquaCity Poprad, Hydrotour Travel Agency<\/p>\n
Official Transport Provider: Lancia <\/p>\n
Logistics Sponsor: DHL <\/p>\n
Student cinepasses for only \u20ac5 provided by Prv\u00e1 stavebn\u00e1 sporite\u013e\u0148a, a. s. <\/p>\n
Sponsors: TIPOS, Slovak Telekom, Penzi\u00f3n Baske, Cinemax, Forza CZ, Omnia Motors, Omnia 2000, DOMO Omnia, Omnia KLF<\/p>\n
Official Suppliers: zna\u010dka Mo\u00ebt, Hotel Pax \u2013 the festival spa hotel, NAY Elektrodom, Esterle&Esterle, MF team, LampART, Stredn\u00e1 odborn\u00e1 \u0161kola polygrafick\u00e1<\/p>\n
Main Media Sponsors: Slovak Radio and Television, Pravda, R\u00e1dio FM, zoznam.sk<\/p>\n
Media Sponsors: TA 3, TV JOJ, Film Europe Channel, Central Europe Television, R\u00e1dio Europa 2, .t\u00fd\u017ede\u0148, Eurotelev\u00edzia, Pardon, OK!, Kine\u010dko, Kam do mesta, Focus, GONG SK, Boomerang Media, SITA News Agency, Pay-Per Vision Media, euroAWK, Bittner-print, moviemania.sk, filmneweurope.com<\/p>\n
Partners: The Tren\u010d\u00edn Self-governing Region, the European Commission Representation in Slovakia, the Embassy of Israel in Slovakia, the Slovak Film Institute, CzechTourism, Celtima SK, Hotel Fl\u00f3ra, KURSALON, the Bratislava Culture and Information Centre, Hollywood Classic Entertainment <\/p>\n
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