The 31st International Film Festival Febiofest Bratislava, set to unspool from 13-19 March at the newly renovated Lumière Cinema (see the news), is gearing up to showcase an eclectic mix of cinematic offerings. Organised by the Association of Slovak Film Clubs (ASFK) and the Slovak Film Institute, the festival features the In the Heart of Europe section and two competitions – a short and a feature-film competition for titles from the V4 countries, Austria and Ukraine.

“We are particularly excited to be premiering the Slovak short Gritty Eyes by Juraj Janiš. It's a gritty story about the complexities of adolescence and the search for one's own identity in the Slovak periphery,” explains festival director Ondrej Starinský. “As for feature films, Slovak cinema will mainly be represented by minority co-productions – for instance, Explanation for Everything [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Gábor Reisz
scheda film] by Gábor Reisz, which won the main prize in the Orizzonti section at Venice. The film contemplates the toxicity of nationalism affecting everyday life and is highly topical,” Starinský adds. In his view, other noteworthy films include the documentary You Will Never See It All [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Štěpán Pech
scheda film] by Štěpán Pech, about relatively unknown artist Ján Mančuška, and Mr. and Mrs. Stodola [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Petr Hátle
scheda film] by Petr Hátle, based on the real-life story of a couple of serial killers living in the Czech Republic. The competition includes Anna Buryachkova’s Ukrainian drama-romance Forever-Forever [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Anna Buryachkova
scheda film], premiered at Venice, and the Austrian capitalist satire Veni Vidi Vici [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Daniel Hoesl, Julia Niemann
scheda film] by Daniel Hoesl and Julia Niemann, from Sundance. The short-film competition will be split into four blocks and will showcase a variety of titles, from animated to documentary and experimental flicks.

On the occasion of the centenary of the birth of František Vláčil and Stanislav Barabáš, the festival programmers have included Vláčil's celebrated 1967 film Marketa Lazarová and Barabáš's 1968 psychological drama A Gentle Creature in the Mirror of the Past section, honouring both directors' contributions to historical and psychological cinema. Marketa Lazarová, recognised as one of the most important works in the historical film genre worldwide, was named the most significant Czech film of the century by critics in 1998 and has consistently ranked highly in various polls.

The festival is once again joining forces with the Visegrad Film Forum international educational platform. The Icelandic-Slovakian co-produced drama Solitude [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Ninna Pálmadóttir
scheda film] by Ninna Pálmadóttir, penned by Rúnar Rúnarsson, will be shown as a local preview screening, attended by Rúnarsson, who will also hold a master class. Other professional guests who will be delivering master classes in their respective fields at the Visegrad Film Forum include editor Tariq Anwar (American Beauty, The King's Speech [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Tom Hooper
scheda film]) and cinematographer Peter Suschitzky, known for his long-term collaboration with David Cronenberg as well as his work on films such as Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, Mars Attacks! and The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

Similarly to previous editions, the festival’s industry strand, Bratislava Industry Days, will feature the Works in Progress (read the 2023 industry report) initiative, serving as a dynamic showcase for upcoming Slovak films, targeting international festival representatives, industry platforms and sales agents through a public pitching session complemented by pre-arranged, one-on-one meetings. Approximately ten projects, ranging from fiction and documentaries to animated works, encompassing both features and shorts at various stages of development or production, are being presented while eyeing a theatrical release. The event boasts the Best Febio Pitch Award, endowed with €3,000, alongside partner-awarded accolades. Additionally, selected projects engage in a specialised training programme aimed at enhancing their teams’ public pitching skills, supported by partners MIDPOINT Institute and Character – Film Development Association.