An outstanding actor, an unforgettable comic, a perceptive writer and a man with a big heart. That is how his family, colleagues and friends remember Július Satinský. From June 21 to 26 in Trenčianske Teplice and Trenčín, the upcoming Art Film Fest will honour the 10th anniversary of this great performer’s death with a special section dedicated to his acting mastery: Satinský According to Lasica. For more than four decades, these two artists formed an inseparable duo, creating television programmes and films that have become bona fide classics.
“It’s safe to say that this section is going be a real treat for audiences,” said Art Film Fest director Peter Nágel.
From Satinský’s prolific 40-year film career, Milan Lasica has selected seven pictures, both features and documentaries. “Július Satinský and film – that was a curious chapter in our long partnership,” comments Lasica, Art Film Fest’s president.
Festival guests will get the chance to remember Satinský as Albert, the quirky, wise-cracking dad from Marie Poledňáková’s What a Wonderful World with You, the Czech comedy of the century that a whole generation grew up with. Lasica and Satinský appear together as visitors from another planet in Oldřich Lipský’s cult classic Cordially from Earth. The two normal-looking aliens, named A and B, come to study the lives of earthlings.
“In ‘81 I received a telegram from Oldřich Lipský asking if I’d like to play an alien. I immediately said ‘Yes!’, since I’d already felt like one for years.
Lipský gave us a free hand, both as performers and as co-creators, resulting in a collaboration that was enjoyable and great fun,” reminisces Lasica.
The festival will also commemorate the outstanding actor and comic with The Remarkable World of Július Satinský, a documentary by Peter Hledík – Art Film Fest’s founder, festival vice president and director of the Actor‘s Mission and Golden Camera Awards. The film features Satinský’s brother Vojtech, younger by a year, who also suffered from serious health issues. “Julo called me every morning at nine, every single day. We always talked about the problems we had. I kept telling him: ‘If I made it, then you’ll definitely pull through, too. There’s no such thing as “no”. You don’t have to be afraid.’ But it was no use…” Vojtech Satinský says in the documentary.
Further light is shed upon Július’s life, work and relationships by I’m Dead at the Moment, a documentary by Kamila Vondrová, a Slovak director living in Prague. Shot in 2006, after Satinský’s death, for the Czech Television series Příběhy slavných (Famous Life Stories), the film presents the beloved Slovak stage and film actor, writer, playwright and columnist through the fond memories of Milan Lasica, Marie Poledňáková, Magda Vášáryová, Václav Postránecký and others.
His friendships and collaborations were likely best summed up by Milan Lasica’s eulogy, where he said: “Julo, I’m standing right where we got our start as clowns. And as a clown, I’ve lived to see the saddest role of all – saying goodbye to you. You’re taking a piece of me with you. I’m left here alone, somehow incomplete. I keep expecting to answer the phone and hear your famous words: ’I’m dead at the moment, please try again later…’”
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Art Film Fest 2013 – the 21st 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 Sponsor: KOOPERATIVA poisťovňa, Vienna Insurance Group
Project Sponsor: TIPOS
Main Sponsors: Dr. Max, SYNOT TIP, TEMPEST, SLOVNAFT, AquaCity Poprad
Official Transport Provider: Hyundai
Logistics Sponsor: DHL
Student cinepasses for only €5 provided by: Prvá stavebná sporiteľňa
Sponsors: PPC Power, Slovak Telekom, AVI Studio, Barzzuz, Hydrotour travel agency
Official Suppliers: Moët, ad one, euro Print Hall, Zlatý Bažant, Dendra
Main Media Sponsors: Slovak Radio and Television, Rádio FM, Pravda
Media Sponsors: Film Europe Channel, Central Europe Television, Rádio Europa 2, zoznam.sk, rozhovory.sk, Eurotelevízia, Pardon, OK!, Kam do mesta, Slovak Lines, GONG SK, SITA News Agency, BigMedia, moviemania.sk, filmneweurope.com
Sponsors: The European Commission Representation in Slovakia, the Slovak Film Institute, the Slovak Tourist Board, CzechTourism, Character – Film Development Association, the Italian Cultural Institute in Bratislava, the Embassy of Italy in Bratislava, the Embassy of the Kingdom of Spain, the Swedish Embassy in Vienna, the Embassy of Finland in Bratislava, the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan in Prague, Považský cukor, Europe’s Finest
