Current culture tips for around Slovakia.
Slovak books for children among best 150 in the world
3 Slovak books will be presented at the Bologna Children’s festival starting March 31st in Italy. The world’s leading trade fair for the children’s publishing industry has accepted almost 3900 titles, making this year the one with the highest ever number of submitted entries for the Bologna Ragazzi Awards. Authors, illustrators, and publishers compete in 9 categories. Among the 150 best projects of the past year are the Slovak books Kým dopadne šálka by Simona Smatana, Sushi by Dávid Soboň and IndiJanko by Petra Gmucová, Katarína Hutníková and Zora Bizoňová.
Protest relay in front of Slovak National Gallery
Slovak visual artists have launched a relay in front of the entrance to the Slovak National Gallery. Their priority is a transparent process of selecting the General Director of this vital cultural institution. Since Culture Minister Martina Šimkovičová removed Alexandra Kusá from the position this past fall, a position which she had held for 20 years, three men have subsequently been appointed the General Director, with Jaroslav Niňaj currently serving. Visual artists also demand Martina Šimkovičová’s removal from the post of Culture Minister and Lukáš Machala’s from the post of the Chief-of-staff of this ministry. The protest relay will be held until April 8th, when a new selection procedure for the post of Director-General of the institution should be held. The relay is open to the public–those who wish to participate must fill in an application form, which is available online.
Role of Milan Šimečka and churches in fight against totalitarian regime
"Against communist power. Opposition activities in Slovakia before 1989" is the title of the conference to be held on March 25th in Bratislava. Organised by the Nation’s Memory Institute, it will discuss diverse forms of individual and communal resistance against the communist regime in the years 1948-1989. The program includes a presentation of the civic initiatives both in Bratislava and by Milan Šimečka, a key figure of Slovak dissent. The conference will also highlight the role of churches and church communities in support of opposition activities and their position against totalitarian power. Admission to the event is free and it will be held in Slovak.
Moyzes Quartet turning 50
Moyzes Quartet, an acclaimed Slovak music ensemble, is turning 50. On this occasion, a special concert will be held on the 23rd of March in Bratislava. Moyzes quartet has represented Slovakia all across Europe, India, USA, Canada, Japan, etc. It is named after composer Alexander Moyzes, the only highly recognised Slovak classical music personality, who publicly expressed his disapproval of the Soviet-led invasion of Warsaw’s troops into Czechoslovakia in 1968. The Sunday jubilee programme of the Moyzes quartet includes music by Alexander Moyzes as well as compositions by Joseph Haydn and Ernő Dohnányi. As entry is free and the capacity at the yard of the Academy of Performing Arts is limited, the organisers recommend booking seats in advance.
FILM FESTIVALS
32nd Febiofest
The key focus of the Febiofest International Film Festival is arthouse films production. The event is being held in Cinema Lumiere in Bratislava from March 19th-25th, this year under the title Distorted Reality. There are two competition sections: one focused on short films produced in V4 countries (i.e. Czechia, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia) as well as in Austria and Ukraine, and the second one focused on feature-length documentaries and fiction films produced in V4, Austria and Ukraine. The Industry Days segment, to be held March 24th-25th, will bring together professionals from all around Europe who will not only assess 16 works in progress, but also take part in 3 panel discussions.
The organisers claim that they „take into account the situation of the industry in the country and use the festival as a tool to achieve growth of the market share of arthouse European films in Slovak cinemas“. In line with its film education goals, the festival is also screening restored classics such as the iconic Wings of Desire by Wim Wenders, Alain Robbe-Grillet’s A man who lies shot in Slovak-French co-production, and Polish satire Escape from the „Liberty“ cinema, among others.
Febiofest is organized by the Association of Slovak Film Clubs and its main co-organiser is the Slovak Film Institute. Although the key program is located in Bratislava, a selection of films will be later screened in several other Slovak towns, i.e. Banska Bystrica, Dubnica nad Váhom, Hlohovec, Levice, Košice, Nové Zámky, Prešov and Prievidza.
25th Mountains and City
The 25th International Mountain and Adventure Film Festival Mountains and City will start in Bratislava on Wednesday, March 26th. Through March 30th, visitors can see 51 films in several themed sections. Among them, winners of prestigious festivals such as Champions of the Golden valley, a US documentary about young skiers from rival ethnic groups racing on the slopes in Afghanistan. It is also possible to see films about the Carpathian mountains and their role in Slovakia. For example, the documentary Via Slovakia maps the track of avid tourist Slavomir Duchovič who walked the longest hiking route in Slovakia – more than 1,870 km along the Slovak border– in 82 days. Most of the films are English-friendly. The main program will be accompanied by several debates with stars of mountain climbing such as Jakob Schubert from Austria, the world champion climber, and Lucia Janičová, the only Slovak woman who has conquered Mount Everest.
Tinkers and wirework on stage displayed in Žilina
On Friday, March 21st, Považské múzeum in Žilina, in the wirecraft pavillion at Budatín castle, will open a display of artefacts related to the presentation of tinkers in Slovak theatre production. The curators of the exhibition focus on plays featuring tinker characters in a positive way, inspiring audiences with their virtues, albeit not always in the leading role of the play. As a co-author of the display, Tatiana Kubáňová explained how, through the story of a tinker, playwrights reflected the political development and attitude to this craft by contemporaries. It is possible to see the show in Žilina until March 30th.
