The Slovak Film and Television Academy (SFTA) announced the winners of the 2024 Slnko v sieti national film awards on Wednesday, April 16, in Bratislava. The gala event, held at Slovak Radio, was dominated by the films Ema a smrtihlav (The Hungarian Dressmaker), which won five awards, and Vlny (Waves), which was named Best Feature Film. Directed by Jiří Mádl, Waves won nine out of its 14 nominations, also taking home awards for Best Director, Screenplay, Sound, Editing, and Visual Effects. Martin Žiaran won for Best Cinematography, and Katarína Štrbová Bieliková was recognized for Best Costume Design. The film tells the story of two brothers during the events surrounding Czechoslovak Radio in 1967–1968. Vojtěch Vodochodský was awarded Best Actor in a Leading Role for his portrayal of Tomáš Havlík in the film.
Iveta Grófová’s Ema a smrtihlav earned five awards, including Best Supporting Actor for Milan Ondrík as the character Dušan, a guard. Alexandra Borbély won Best Actress in a Leading Role for her portrayal of Marika, while Éva Bandor received Best Supporting Actress for the role of Agnes. The film also won awards for Best Production Design and Best Artistic Makeup. The Best Documentary Film award went to Prezidentka, a portrait of former Slovak president Zuzana Čaputová, directed by Marek Šulík and produced by Barbara Janišová Feglová. Keď život chutí (When Life Tastes Good), directed by Kristína Dufková, was named Best Animated Film, and composer Michal Novinski received the award for Best Film Score for the same film.
The historical series Čas nádejí, directed by Ján Sebechlebský, won in the Best TV Film/Miniseries/Series category. In the revived category for Best Short Fiction or Documentary Film, Spoveď (Confession), directed by Rebeka Bizubová and produced by the Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava, took the award. The audience award went to the film Miki. The Slnko v sieti Lifetime Achievement Award for outstanding contribution to Slovak audiovisual culture was given to director and screenwriter Miloslav Luther. The 79-year-old expressed his desire for his films to evoke emotion and outlast him, encouraging his peers to remain persistent and not be discouraged.
Several winners used the platform to express concerns about the current state of culture and politics in Slovakia. Director Marek Šulík called for truth and love to triumph over lies and hate, while screenwriter Scarlett Čanakyová voiced hope that expertise and integrity would return to the institutions responsible for supporting Slovak culture.
Source: STVR
