Films from world-famous festivals, cult classics, upbeat dance films, classic comedies and premiering Slovak films – this, and more, is what guests can expect at the 17th Annual Art Film Fest, which will take place from 20 – 27 June, 2009 in Trenčianské Teplice and Trenčín, as always.  The international film festival is one of the most prominent cultural and social events in Slovakia, and as in previous years, it will bring to Slovakia over 150 films not normally viewable in our cinemas.

This year’s Art Film Fest will present two competition sections.  The International Competition of Feature Films will introduce the works of talented filmmakers to festival cinemas.  “Young filmmakers and up-and-coming auteurs may be every film festival’s most sought-after and prized asset, and Art Film Fest doesn’t want to miss out either.  On the contrary, in the upcoming 17th annual we have decided to broaden the festival program’s main section, highlighting the diversity of contemporary film talent even more than before,” said Peter Nágel, Program Director and coordinator of the Competition of Feature Films.
The Blue Angel – the festival’s coveted grand prize – will be vied for by filmmakers on their first, second, or third films.  The nominated films will include prize-winning pictures from the most prestigious film festivals in Venice, Berlin, and Locarno.  “I am convinced that the future of the film world will make its presence felt at our festival,” said Nágel.  Feature-length films will be once again judged by an international jury, whose makeup is currently being discussed.
The second competition section is the International Competition of Short Films, always a crowd-pleaser.  As in previous years, the section’s films will be restricted to one essential parameter – a length of up to thirty minutes.  The section’s appeal lies in the sheer variety provided by more than forty brand-new flicks from Iceland, New Zealand, Chile, the Philippines, and many places in between.
The festival program will also include non-competitive sections, and it is those which have had a makeover this year; they have doubled in number, and their names alone will draw crowds to the cinemas…