20th Bratislava International Film Festival

Denis Côté is an independent Canadian filmmaker and one of the darlings of the festival circuit, particularly its segment with a more daring dramaturgy. His films are rather austere and much in them remains unspoken. They examine characters that often hide some secrets and with whom there is no telling whether they have been excluded by society or they have excluded themselves on their own accord. They are films about loneliness and the (im)possibility to get to know a person.

 

The Bratislava IFF offers you a short sample of Côté’s filmography. His fiction features are represented by All That She Wants and Curling, films that earned him international reputation. Bestiaire is an observation documentary and while his latest motion picture, A Skin So Soft, also seems to be in that category, in fact it dwells somewhere halfway between fiction and documentary.

For several years, our festival dedicated a separate section to Slovak films. When putting the section’s programme together, we always keep two basic objectives in mind: one, that it serves the juiciest titbits and the hottest new releases to the domestic audience; second, that it allows the festival’s foreign guests to get a faithful picture of Slovak cinema’s actual condition. We are happy to observe that there is plenty to choose from as Slovak films are receiving unprecedented international attention and film festivals are the platform where they have recently scored remarkable success.

Cinema is one of the most powerful cultural ‘vehicles’. It reminds us of people, places, events and moments in our lives. It moves and inspires us. It enriches the debate and even provokes it. It is a source of emotions; it also provides reflections on us and our identity. Most European films are only released in the country where they have been made and are rarely distributed across borders. The contrast is even bigger when we realise that more than 60% of films released in European cinemas are European, but they are only watched by one third of the cinema audiences.

In order to remedy this, the European Parliament created the LUX FILM PRIZE in 2007. For eleven consecutive years, it has enhanced both the distribution of quality European films and the discourse on European issues.

Pressing issues seen from the global perspective and interpreted by the most vocal authors of contemporary cinema – that is Cinema Now, a section that presents an instant overview of the most remarkable films of the season. Some of them have already created a furore at world’s most prestigious film festivals while others still wait to be discovered. The section puts promising newcomers next to established filmmakers and doyens of the industry.

Brevity, pithiness, the art of miniature – the best short films share the rare ability to use the shortest possible timeframe to the absolute full to tell the story and to provoke emotions or notions that continue to evolve within the audience long after they have left the cinema. To some filmmakers, shorts are an important stepping stone at the beginning of their careers; however, there are those who choose the format deliberately, as they appreciate its features and are able to capitalise on them. Our competition of short films is dedicated to filmmakers who have learned to enjoy artistic freedom in a seemingly restrainful format.