Art Film Fest is among Slovakia\u2019s most significant cultural events, and this year it will yet again provide an abundant array of films, most of which will not reach Slovak cinemas otherwise.<\/p>\n
At the festival\u2019s core are its two competition sections, a long Art Film Fest tradition. The International Competition of Feature Films <\/b>is oriented towards the remarkable work of young filmmakers, specifically their first, second or third feature-length film. Generally this involves many films that have already enjoyed success at other international festivals, such as Berlin, Sundance or Locarno. In the categories of best film, direction, female and male performance, fifteen films will compete for the Blue Angel grand prize and its accompanying monetary gift.<\/p>\n
A favourite of audiences is the International Competition of Short Films<\/b>. It focuses on films from all genres of up to thirty minutes in length. The section features a fascinating overview of both student work and films created under professional conditions. It offers the opportunity to get familiar with the work of young, up-and-coming filmmakers from literally around the world. The best among them will receive the statutory On the Road award and a monetary prize. <\/p>\n
In addition to the competition section, this year\u2019s Art Film Fest will feature eleven non-competition film sections, three of which are brand new, presenting cinematic treats from various corners of the globe. The section Iceland According to Fridriksson <\/b>will offer the unique opportunity to become better acquainted with the work of this most distinguished and world-renowned Icelandic director, screenwriter and producer. Some of his films have already been screened in Slovak cinemas or televised film clubs, but Art Film Fest will provide much more. \u201cThe section presents Fridriksson\u2019s work from its outset – films which have either never been screened in Slovakia or are no longer distributed here – to penetrate more deeply into to the essence of his work,\u201d says section coordinator Alexandra Strelkov\u00e1.<\/p>\n
The next festival newcomer, which will definitely be a major audience attraction, is Eastern Promises<\/b>, focusing on East-Asian films which have generated great enthusiasm among audiences and critics in their home countries. Visitors will have the unique opportunity to become better acquainted with a different side of Far-Eastern cinema and discover regional hits from filmmakers not yet known here. \u201cOur ambition was to expose the wilder, livelier and indeed the more passionate side of East-Asian film, more accessible to a wider audience – the face they show mainly in their home countries, to their \u2018own\u2019 audiences,\u201d explain section coordinators Krist\u00edna Aschenbrennerov\u00e1 and Adri\u00e1n \u017di\u0161ka.<\/p>\n
The festival also aims to attract children, and therefore another premiering section in this year\u2019s programme will be Art Film Fest for Children: V\u00e1clav Vorl\u00ed\u010dek Presents His Comedies and Fairytales<\/b>. To celebrate the eightieth birthday of one of the most distinguished and popular Czech directors, Art Film Fest will present three comedies and three fairytales, personally selected by the director himself. Viewers who know these films from television will be able to see them on the silver screen, of course with the personal participation of their creator and several performers.<\/p>\n
Then there is the festival section whose content\u2019s focus changes every year: the presentation known as Topic. This time it takes an utterly contemporary look at football, under the title Football Is Our Life<\/b>. Just a few days before the start of the 18th<\/sup> Art Film Fest, the 19th<\/sup> World Cup football tournament will commence in South Africa, which is an excellent opportunity to view this sport phenomenon through the lens of filmmakers from around the world, from Argentina to Bhutan. Visitors will undoubtedly appreciate pictures such as Looking for Eric<\/i> from director Ken Loach and starring Eric Cantona, The Football Factory <\/i>from director Nick Love, investigating the connections between football and British hooligan violence, and the quasi-documentary Football Under Cover <\/i>(directed by David Assmann and Ayat Najafi), which captures an attempt to organise the first women\u2019s football match in Iran.<\/p>\n One of audiences\u2019 best-liked sections at Art Film Fest is Slovak Season<\/b>, which presents the latest releases of Slovak cinema. These will include the premiere of animator Katar\u00edna Kerekesov\u00e1\u2019s new puppet-based film: Stones<\/i>, a musical melodrama set in a rock quarry and intended for adult viewers. The next title is the co-produced documentary War Games<\/i> from director Dariusz Jablonski, about the Cold War era and a man who saved Europe from nuclear conflict. Also sure to satisfy viewers will be the premiere of director Jozef Pa\u0161t\u00e9ka\u2019s latest, the comedy The Corpse Must Die<\/i>, starring Miroslav Noga and Peter Marcin. In addition, there will be a special presentation of Du\u0161an Tran\u010d\u00edk\u2019s When the Stars Were Red<\/i> to celebrate the picture\u2019s 20th anniversary. This is a film that has for some reason been undeservedly forgotten in the context of Slovak cinema.<\/p>\n The newly-conceived section Stardust Memories<\/b> will follow in the footsteps of previous festivals\u2019 highly popular showcase Cult!. This time it will feature eight films from a variety of genres, whose quality ranks them among world cinema\u2019s most significant work. \u201cAt the same time, every title comprises a significant, time-tested work, featuring renowned filmmakers and star performers,\u201d adds Peter N\u00e1gel, section coordinator and festival director. For the second time, festival president Milan Lasica will introduce his selection of comedy classics entitled Best of Comedy<\/b>. Visitors will get to enjoy the big-screen incarnations of Ernst Lubitsch\u2019s Ninotchka<\/i>, Blake Edward\u2019s Breakfast at Tiffany\u2019s<\/i> and Charlie Chaplin\u2019s City Lights<\/i>. For film buffs who don\u2019t mind cinema outings by night, Late Night Show<\/b> will once again present a collection of offbeat films that defy the criteria of both art-house and mainstream film distribution. Films with a distinctive approach to expression and storytelling will be the focus of a selection of films entitled Love and Anarchy<\/b>. Another popular section is European Corner<\/b>, which offers the opportunity to see new releases from acclaimed directors or intriguing newcomers, from countries whose work does not reach mainstream distribution. The most extraordinary non-European pictures made in the last fifteen months will yet again be featured in the section Around the World<\/b>, where visitors can look forward to new releases from renowned directors and pictures freshly bestowed with Oscars, Golden Globes and BAFTA Awards.<\/p>\n The festival\u2019s prestigious Golden Camera<\/b> Award<\/b> for exceptional contributions to the field of cinema will be awarded to director V\u00e1clav Vorl\u00ed\u010dek and cinematographer Stanislav Szomol\u00e1nyi. This year the Actor\u2019s Mission Award <\/b>will be accepted and placed on the Bridge of Fame by prominent Czech actor Josef Abrh\u00e1m.<\/p>\n Art Film Fest will also provide an attractive array of accompanying film-related events. Young screenwriters and dramaturges can look forward to the eight-day international workshop MidPoint, where novice European filmmakers will develop their projects under the guidance of Slovak and international experts. And for producers, the festival will once again feature the six-day MAIA workshop. To celebrate the one-hundredth anniversary of the birth of Pa\u013eo Bielik, one of Slovak cinema\u2019s most distinguished figures, a release ceremony in cooperation with the Slovak Film Institute will be held for Petra Han\u00e1kov\u00e1\u2019s new book on Bielik, in addition to a screening of a restored print of Captain Dabac<\/i>.<\/p>\n Pleasant relaxation will be provided by traditional concerts at the festival\u2019s Spa Hall caf\u00e9 in Tren\u010dianske Teplice, as part of the concert series Every Evening Live<\/i> <\/i>with Oskar R\u00f3zsa. Concerts in Tren\u010d\u00edn have become a festival tradition, and they\u2019ll be back this year on the city\u2019s main square.<\/p>\n As in previous years, one of the 18th<\/sup> annual Art Film Fest\u2019s unifying features will be a distinctive conceptual logo, the result of an open competition primarily aimed at art-school students. A selection committee evaluated more than forty submissions from twenty registered applicants, and in the end the winner was declared Adri\u00e1n Jur\u00e1\u010dek from the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Bratislava (the studio of graphic design professor Stanislav Stankoci, academic painter). Jur\u00e1\u010dek used the theme of the section Football Is Our Life as an inspiration for his work. \u201cI didn\u2019t want to take a representational approach, so I chose just a fragment, specifically something found at football stadiums: an information board assembled from individual panels, where animated scores, information and photographs are pictured. Black and white panels will provide information about the festival. The panels\u2019 constant background will consist of stills from films screened at Art Film Fest, which lends the logo a human quality,\u201d explains designer Adri\u00e1n Jur\u00e1\u010dek.<\/p>\n Festival screenings will be held at three projection venues in Tren\u010d\u00edn: CINEMAX Tren\u010d\u00edn, the Cultural and Methodological Centre of the Slovak Military (a.k.a. ODA or Kult\u00farne a metodick\u00e9 centrum Ozbrojen\u00fdch s\u00edl Slovenskej republiky), and ArtKino Metro, and at two cinemas in Tren\u010dianske Teplice: Prame\u0148 Cinema and the Tatra Banka Cinema Tent. This year, festival evenings will be enlivened by two Ba\u017eant Cinematograph buses – one on \u0160t\u00far Square in Tren\u010d\u00edn and a second in Tren\u010dianske Teplice.<\/p>\n And for the third time, students up to 26 years of age (born in 1984 and later) will get to attend Art Film Fest for free. All they have to do is request a cinepass by filling out a simple registration form at the festival website by the end of May. All registered students will be issued a cinepass at the festival\u2019s registration area, where they will have to show evidence of their study (transcript, school report, confirmation of attendance, an ISIC student\u2019s card, etc.). From 19.6, student cinepasses will be on sale for 5\u20ac at festival box offices.<\/p>\n —————————– The Art Film Fest International Film Festival Tren\u010dianske Teplice\/Tren\u010d\u00edn is made possible through the financial support of the Audiovisual Fund and the European Union Programme MEDIA. <\/i> Organizers:<\/b> ART FILM, n.o., Forza, a.s. Art Film Fest is among Slovakia\u2019s most significant cultural events, and this year it will yet again provide an abundant
Co-organizers:<\/b> the Town of Tren\u010dianske Teplice, the City of Tren\u010d\u00edn, the Tren\u010dianske Teplice Health Spa Media Sponsors:<\/b> Slovensk\u00e1 telev\u00edzia, telev\u00edzia Mark\u00edza, FilmBox, Telev\u00edzia Central, R\u00e1dio Europa 2, R\u00e1dio Hit FM, Pravda, .t\u00fd\u017ede\u0148, Mark\u00edza, Pardon, Cinemax, Kam do mesta, zoznam.sk, ISPA, SITA, Q-EX, Boomerang Media<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"