17/04/2025 - Jiří Mádl’s Czech-Slovak co-production has nabbed nine national awards, while another period drama, The Hungarian Dressmaker, netted five

Wanda Adamik Hrycová, the Slovak producer of Waves, picking up the Award for Best Film (© TASR/Dano Veselský)

The Slovak Film and Television Academy (SFTA) has held the 14th edition of the Sun in a Net Awards, its annual recognition of outstanding achievements in Slovak cinema and television. This year’s iteration followed a particularly strong year for domestic film attendance levels. Four Slovak productions ranked among the ten most-visited films of 2024, with nearly 1.5 million cinema admissions for local titles (see the news). The heightened interest in Slovak cinema was reflected by the record number of submissions for the awards, with 49 film and television works entered, making it the most competitive edition to date. Among the most widely attended releases was Jiří Mádl’s Waves [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Jiří Mádl
film profile], a Czech-Slovak co-production that dominated the Czech box office (see the news) and also performed exceedingly well at the Czech Lion Awards (see the news).

Waves also led the nominees at this year’s Sun in a Net Awards, receiving 14 nods. It was followed by Iveta Grófová’s period drama The Hungarian Dressmaker [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Iveta Grófová
film profile], which was shortlisted in 12 categories. Waves went on to secure nine gongs, including Best Film, Best Director and Best Screenplay. The historical drama, which centres on Czechoslovak Radio's resistance to communist censorship shortly before the Soviet invasion, was also recognised in key technical categories, such as Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Sound and Best Visual Effects, confirming its status as a critical darling of the season.

The Hungarian Dressmaker emerged as another notable winner of the night, winning five awards and becoming the second-most-awarded title of the evening. The psychological drama was acknowledged for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress, with Éva Bandor receiving the latter for the second year running. The movie also earned accolades for Best Supporting Actor, as well as for its achievements in production design, make-up and hair.

Kristina Dufková’s critically acclaimed and award-winning animated coming-of-age tale Living Large [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Kristina Dufková
film profile] received the Awards for Best Animated Film and Best Original Score. The Best Documentary Award went to Marek Šulík’s Ms. President [+see also:
film review
interview: Marek Šulík
film profile], a time-lapse portrait chronicling the term of Slovakia’s first female president, Zuzana Čaputová. The Slovak Television and Radio production Time of Hope (Čas nádejí), a historical series depicting the lives of three generations of a Slovak family from 1914-1951, was named Best TV Series. The show traces significant milestones in Slovak history from World War I to the Slovak National Uprising. The Award for Best Short Film went to Confession, a documentary by Rebeka Bizubová addressing sexual abuse within the Church. Veteran director Miloslav Luther received the Award for Extraordinary Contribution to Slovak Audiovisual Culture. The Audience Award, voted for by the public, went to the crime-thriller Miki, the highest-grossing Slovak film of 2024 (see the news).

This year’s Sun in a Net Awards marked a departure from tradition in terms of broadcasting. For the first time, the ceremony was not aired by the public broadcaster, but rather streamed online. According to the broadcaster, the Slovak Film and Television Academy opted to livestream the event on its own website, rather than airing it on national television. The broadcaster stated it respected the decision and would provide technical support and promotional coverage across its news and programming. Initially, a delayed television broadcast had been planned for 22 April on the broadcaster’s second channel, rather than a live transmission on 16 April, as previously. As in prior editions, speeches at the ceremony addressed the current political and social climate, with this year proving no exception.

Here is the full list of award winners:

Best Film
Waves [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Jiří Mádl
film profile] – Jiří Mádl (Slovakia/Czech Republic)

Best Director
Jiří Mádl – Waves

Best Screenplay
Jiří Mádl – Waves

Best Documentary
Ms. President [+see also:
film review
interview: Marek Šulík
film profile] – (Slovakia/Czech Republic)

Best Animated Film
Living Large [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Kristina Dufková
film profile] - Kristína Dufková (Czech Republic/Slovakia/France)

Best Actress
Alexandra Borbély – The Hungarian Dressmaker [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Iveta Grófová
film profile] (Slovakia/Czech Republic)

Best Supporting Actress
Éva Bandor – The Hungarian Dressmaker

Best Actor
Vojtěch Vodochodský – Waves

Best Supporting Actor
Milan Ondrík – The Hungarian Dressmaker

Best Cinematography
Martin Žiaran – Waves

Best Editing
Filip Malásek – Waves

Best Sound
Viktor Ekrt – Waves

Best Music
Michal Novinski – Living Large

Best Production Design
Miriam Struhárová, Tomáš Svoboda – The Hungarian Dressmaker

Best Costumes
Katarína Štrbová Bieliková – Waves

Best Make-up
Andrea Štrbová, Ivo Strangmüller, Tomáš Richter, Viktor Nagy – The Hungarian Dressmaker

Best Visual Effects
Ivo Marák, Miroslav Gál – Waves

Best TV Film/Miniseries/Series
Time of Hope - Ján Sebechlebský (Slovakia)

Best Short Fiction or Documentary Film
Confession – Rebeka Bizubová (Slovakia)

Extraordinary Contribution to Slovak Audiovisual Culture
Miloslav Luther

Audience Award
Miki – Jakub Króner (Slovakia/Czech Republic)