Famous faces etched in viewers’ minds and famous names behind major cinematic oeuvres will pay a visit to the 21st Art Film Fest, running from 21 to 26 June in Trenčianske Teplice and Trenčín.
As in previous years, Art Film Fest is honouring Slovak and international performers for their extraordinary contributions to film acting with the Actor’s Mission Award. In Trenčianske Teplice’s Festival Park, the award’s latest two recipients will personally fix brass plaques bearing their own names – legend of Slovak cinema Martin Huba and Slovakia’s own internationally successful actress Barbora Bobulova. To mark the 10th anniversary of the unforgettable actor’s death, Art Film Fest’s Actor’s Mission will also honour the mastery of Július Satinský with a special section of films selected by Milan Lasica – the festival president and Satinský’s inseparable colleague.
This year Art Film Fest’s Golden Camera will go to two film professionals for their significant contributions to cinema: world-famous Austrian director Ulrich Seidl, whose films rack up awards at the most prestigious film festivals, and respected Slovak director Juraj Herz.
The Film Europe Award has been given by media company Film Europe and Art Film Fest since 2010, recognizing outstanding, internationally awarded work by young Slovak filmmakers. Previous laureates have included Mátyás Prikler, Zuzana Liová, Ivana Laučíková and Martin Snopek.
The 21st Art Film Fest has 152 pictures in store for visitors, including 95 full-length, two medium-length and 55 short films, with award winners from world-class festivals such as Cannes, Berlin and Venice, as well as new Slovak releases among them.
The cinematic programme at this year’s festival will be divided into 13 sections, including tributes to our award recipients.
Around the World is a section offering audiences domestic premieres of remarkable cinematic treats awarded at the most prestigious film festivals.
Freshly returned from the French Riviera, Art Film Fest’s organizers have managed to acquire the latest film from Oscar-winning director Sofia Coppola: The Bling Ring, premiered at Cannes. The picture features Emma Watson as a young thief and Paris Hilton as one of her famous victims in a film based on actual events, portraying a group of teenagers who track iconic celebrities online and steal valuables from their homes.
The finest fruits of old-world cinema will also be brought to the festival screens, courtesy of the section European Corner.
The selection will include the grand prize winner from this year’s Berlinale – the Romanian family drama Child’s Pose – a chilling, merciless exposé of the warped morality of Romania’s so-called high society.
The International Competition of Feature Films has long been Art Film Fest’s centrepiece, and this year 11 films will vie for the festival’s Blue Angel trophy.
These include the crime drama Heli, a story of two lovers that reflects the horrifying reality of today’s Mexico. The film earned filmmaker Amat Escalante the Best Director award at Cannes.
After a year of absence, Slovakia will return to the cinematic fray with Mira Fornay’s My Dog Killer, a portrait of a young skinhead named Marek. The film was the first-ever Slovak title to win Rotterdam’s prestigious Tiger Award.
The Competition of Short Films will juxtapose 38 shorts, including Slovak filmmaker Matúš Vizár’s animated debut Pandas. The short was a hit at Cannes, winning third place in the official Cinéfondation competition of student short- and medium-length films.
Slovak Season will present six features and nine shorts, five of which will be premiere screenings. And Slovak Season Special will premiere Grasshopper: a block of fiction, documentary and animated films from the studios of students and recent graduates of the Film and Television Faculty at Bratislava’s Academy of Performing Arts.
The section will also commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Slovak Film Institute’s founding, screening three classics of Slovak cinema – 1961’s The Song of the Grey Pigeon from Stanislav Barabáš, 1969’s 322 from Dušan Hanák and 1989’s I’m Sitting in a Tree and I Feel Fine from Juraj Jakubisko. All three films will be given world premiere screenings of their digitally restored prints.
This year’s array of fascinating films won’t stop there either, continuing with tantalizing sections like Love and Anarchy, Eastern Promises, Focus: Mental Nord, IN Film – 20 Years and Late Night Show.
As in previous years, Art Film Fest 2013 will also feature activities and workshops for film professionals. For the fourth time, Trenčianske Teplice will host the film-student-oriented script development workshop MIDPOINT. Another festival standby, FORUM 2013 focuses on the promotion, distribution and sale of Slovak films on the international market. In addition to their programmes for participants, both events will include lectures and discussions open to the public.
Festival screenings will be held in Trenčianske Teplice at Prameň Cinema and the Cinematograph, and in Trenčín at Cinemax (two screens), RTVS ArtKino Metro, the Garrison Club (ODA) and the Trenčín Bažant Cinematograph.
Art Film Fest 2013 – the 21st International Trenčianske Teplice/Trenčín Film Festival
The festival is held under the auspices of Prime Minister of the Slovak Republic Robert Fico.
Organizers: ART FILM, n.o., FORZA, a.s.
Co-organizers: The Town of Trenčianske Teplice, the City of Trenčín, Kúpele Trenčianske Teplice
Financial support: The Audiovisual Fund
General Sponsor: KOOPERATIVA poisťovňa, Vienna Insurance Group TIPOS
Main Sponsors: Dr. Max, SYNOT TIP, TEMPEST, SLOVNAFT, AquaCity Poprad, Pow-en
Official Transport Provider: Hyundai
Logistics Sponsor: DHL
Student cinepasses for only €5 provided by: Prvá stavebná sporiteľňa
Sponsors: PPC Power, Slovak Telekom, AVI Studio, Barzzuz, Hydrotour travel agency
Official Suppliers: Anext, Moët, ad one, Toshiba, Zlatý Bažant beer, Dendra, tuli, Relax, euro Print Hall
Main Media Sponsors: Slovak Radio and Television, Rádio FM, Pravda
Media Sponsors: Film Europe Channel, Central Europe Television, Rádio Europa 2, zoznam.sk, rozhovory.sk, Eurotelevízia, Pardon, OK!, Kam do mesta, Slovak Lines, GONG SK, SITA News Agency, BigMedia, moviemania.sk, filmneweurope.com
Sponsors: The European Commission Representation in Slovakia, the Embassy of the United States of America in Bratislava, the Trenčín Self-governing Region, the Slovak Film Institute, the Slovak Tourist Board, CzechTourism, Character – Film Development Association, the Italian Cultural Institute in Bratislava, the Embassy of Italy in Bratislava, the Polish Institute in Bratislava, in film, the Hungarian Institute in Bratislava, the Embassy of the Kingdom of Spain, the Swedish Embassy in Vienna, the Embassy of Finland in Bratislava, the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan in Prague, Považský cukor, Europe’s Finest, Hotel Flóra, AutoCont, Contest, Esterle&Esterle, Kinoservis, Cinemax, lampART, Kursalon Trenčianske Teplice, spicybrown
