The 16th year of the Cinematik festival already knows its winners. Among them are Miro Remo and Andrei Konchalovsky

The 16th Cinematik International Film Festival closed on Sunday, September 19. Like every year, this time the competition categories were an integral part of the festival program. Among the winners are renowned names and a talented newcomer.

The Cinematik International Film Festival has two main competition categories in the program. The international one called Meeting point Europe represents a selection of the best that has appeared in the field of feature European films in the last year. The winners are decided by an expert jury composed of film critics and members of the FIPRESCI federation.

The competition was really intense this year. Among the nominees were also several holders of prestigious awards from world festivals and national representatives in the competition for the American Academy Awards for International Films. The Cinematik jury finally declared the black-and-white historical drama of Andrej Končalovský as its winner Dear comrades! (Dorogie tovarishchi). The exceptional film, which takes us back to the violently suppressed uprising in a small Russian town from 1962, also has, for example, a special jury award from last year’s Venice Film Festival.

Viewers also choose their winner in the European film competition. Their favorite this year was the drama of Bosnian director Jasmila Žbanić’s Quo vadis, Aida ?, which won the Audience Award at the Rotterdam Film Festival, for example. His heroine is a translator at the UN service who, in a desperate game for a while, tries to prevent what will later go down in history as the Srebrenica massacre.

The second competition section of Cinematik, Cinematik.doc, focuses on the home scene – exclusively Slovak documentary filmmakers apply for prizes with their novelties. The winner of the main prize, the Literary Fund Prize, was Miro Remo with the title At Full Throttle.

The jury, which included Czech film publicist Kamila Boháčková, Polish film historian Maciej Gil and Slovak filmmaker and producer Peter Kerekes, gave this film a flattering evaluation: At Full Throttle is an example of great film work. The jury appreciates the comprehensive and multi-layered statement. The film is entertaining for the viewer, but at the same time encourages deeper reflection. Miro Remo was able to convey an authentic picture not only of the losses and wins of the “race for life”, but also of the complexity of today’s world.”

This year, the Mayor of Piešťany Award went to Mária Pinčíková and her authorial debut On Your Marks!, which shows the behind-the-scenes preparations for the legendary All-Sokol Rally. “The jury appreciates the director’s choreography, Mária Pinčíková managed to direct several teams in parallel. This is an extraordinary feat for the author’s debut. She managed to capture such a huge event as the All-Sokol Rally and present it with the humor of a Forman style, when she does not laugh at the protagonists, but with them. The film points to the ethos of this event, which is not just an exercise, but a lifestyle. Especially in today’s divided society, we appreciate the film’s message about the need for collaboration. “