Award-winning films from the world’s most prestigious festivals, Oscar nominees, exclusive premieres of critically acclaimed pictures, the latest in Slovak cinema, Asian blockbusters, even tributes to revered celebrities of the silver screen – all this and more awaits audiences at the 20th anniversary of Art Film Fest, running from 16 to 23 June in Trenčianske Teplice and Trenčín.
A likely contender for this year’s prize catch is Woody Allen’s brand new comedy To Rome with Love. Art Film Fest’s exclusive screening will be the first to follow the film’s world premiere in its titular Italian city. In the legendary director’s latest discovery of a European metropolis, American tourists and Italian locals get caught up in a web of awkward misadventures, romantic and otherwise.
Art Film Fest 2012’s programme will be divided into 13 sections, including tributes to this year’s award winners, altogether comprising 159 films of which 88 are features and 71 are shorts. In the International Competition of Feature Films, the Blue Angel will go to one of 12 pictures bearing awards from top international festivals such as Sundance, Locarno and the Berlinale. 37 shorts from around the world, including several Oscar nominees, will vie for the Blue Angel for Best Short Film in the International Competition of Short Films.
Around the World will offer film connoisseurs globe-trotting cinematic treats in their exclusive Slovak premieres. One of the section’s most anticipated entries is the directorial debut of Hollywood star Angelina Jolie – In the Land of Blood and Honey. Lauded by critics everywhere and nominated for a Golden Globe, the powerful film tells the story of star-crossed lovers torn tragically apart by the Yugoslav Wars.
Winner of the Golden Bear at the 2012 Berlinale, the Taviani brothers’ Caesar Must Die is among the highlights of this year’s European Corner section. Still directing well into their eighties, the veteran filmmakers capture a distinctly unusual production of Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar”, cast entirely by convicts in a maximum-security prison.
Slovak Season will offer viewers sneak previews of the latest home-grown productions, including Marek Ťapák’s Dancing on Broken Glass and Bells of Happiness, Marek Šulík and Jana Bučková’s remarkable documentary on two unique members of a Roma community. Two cinematic portraits of artists will fill out the section – Arnold Kojnok’s Fair Play, surveying the career of academic painter Július Koller, and Tibor Huszár’s Comeback from Miro Remo, part of a series on Slovak photographers. Documentary fans hungry for more need look no further than Czech Joy, a hand-picked selection of the best contemporary Czech documentaries including Slovak premieres of the latest work from respected filmmakers like Jan Gogola Jnr, Vít Janeček and Martin Mareček.
This year’s array of fascinating films won’t stop there either, continuing with tantalizing sections like Love and Anarchy, Eastern Promises, Focus: New British Cinema and Late Night Show.
The icing on Art Film Fest’s 20th birthday cake will be provided by Leaving the Cinema, a celebration of the cinema venue itself as well as a retrospective on the development of film screening. The section is an homage to the classic cinemas and 35 mm celluloid projectors that, with the rapid adoption of digital technology, will be history before we know it.
Art Film Fest 2012 will also feature activities and workshops for film professionals. In its third year in Trenčianske Teplice, the screenwriting workshop MidPoint is offered to students of selected international film schools, and for the first time a workshop has been organized for professional screenwriters as well. Returning visitors will also remember Forum, a series of lectures and courses focused on the international promotion of upcoming Slovak films.
In addition to films, audiences can look forward to an abundant variety of musical performances. As in previous years, Trenčianske Teplice’s Kursalon, the festival’s official café, will feature live music every evening, hosted by versatile musician Oskar Rózsa. The list of performers will include Czech sensation Lenka Dusilová, recipient of multiple Angel Awards. Festival screenings will be held in Trenčianske Teplice at Prameň Cinema, the Cinema Tent and the Spa Hall, as well as in Trenčín at ArtKino Metro, two auditoriums at Cinemax and the Cinematograph on the city’s main square.
Art Film Fest 2012 – the 20th International Trenčianske Teplice/Trenčín Film Festival
The festival is held under the auspices of Prime Minister of the Slovak Republic Robert Fico.
Organizers: ART FILM, n.o., FORZA, a.s.
Co-organizers: The Town of Trenčianske Teplice, the City of Trenčín, Kúpele Trenčianske Teplice
Financial Support: The Audiovisual Fund
General Sponsors: KOOPERATIVA poisťovňa Vienna Insurance Group, Privatbanka
Main Sponsors: Omnia Holding SE, Slovnaft, AquaCity Poprad, Hydrotour Travel Agency
Official Transport Provider: Lancia
Logistics Sponsor: DHL
Student cinepasses for only €5 provided by Prvá stavebná sporiteľňa, a. s.
Sponsors: TIPOS, Slovak Telekom, Penzión Baske, Cinemax, Forza CZ, Omnia Motors, Omnia 2000, DOMO Omnia, Omnia KLF
Official Suppliers: značka Moët, Hotel Pax – the festival spa hotel, NAY Elektrodom, Esterle&Esterle, MF team, LampART, Stredná odborná škola polygrafická
Main Media Sponsors: Slovak Radio and Television, Pravda, Rádio FM, zoznam.sk
Media Sponsors: TA 3, TV JOJ, Film Europe Channel, Central Europe Television, Rádio Europa 2, .týždeň, Eurotelevízia, Pardon, OK!, Kinečko, Kam do mesta, Focus, GONG SK, Boomerang Media, SITA News Agency, Pay-Per Vision Media, euroAWK, Bittner-print, moviemania.sk, filmneweurope.com
Partners: The Trenčín Self-governing Region, the European Commission Representation in Slovakia, the Slovak Film Institute, the Embassy of Israel in Slovakia, CzechTourism, Celtima SK, Hotel Flóra, KURSALON, versity, the Bratislava Culture and Information Centre, Hollywood Classic Entertainment, Niagara, Magic Box Slovakia, the Italian Cultural Institute in Bratislava, Istituto Luce – Cinecittá, Character – Film Development Association
