The artistic director Vladimír Štric presents his five Cinematik tips

Vladimír Štric and his selection:

The Nightsirene/ dir. Tereza Nvotová

The new Slovak film by director Tereza Nvotová won the Golden Leopard at the prestigious Locarno International Film Festival in the Concorso Cineasti del presente (Cinematography of the Present) section. The film had its world premiere on Friday and, in addition to the jury, attracted the attention of the international audience and professional public. The Cinematik Festival will present it in the Slovak pre-premiere. The Nightsirene is a magical drama with elements of mystery and horror. The jury awarded the prize for “a bold vision that opens up the difficult themes of misogyny and superstition in today’s society, and for the overall cinematic grasp.” When receiving the award at the ceremony, director Nvotová said that she wanted to dedicate the award to all women who had to face violence in their lives, be it psychological or physical.

Metsurin tarina / r. Mikko Myllylahti

The story of the woodcutter is an original Nordic comedy about finding the meaning of life in the most difficult situations. Finnish poet and filmmaker Mikko Myllylahti exposes the always positive woodcutter Pepe to a series of unfortunate events that push him into an unexpected existential crisis. The film premiered in the program of this year’s Cannes festival.

Neighbors / r. Mano Khalil

Director Mano Khalil tells the story of little Ser, who grows up in the 80s of the 20th century in the harsh atmosphere of a dictatorial regime. The latter is trying to transform his community into pan-Arab socialists – for example, by spreading hatred towards the local Jews, among whom Sero has friends.

Mariupol (Un)lost Hope / Maksim Litvinov

The documentary follows the people who spent the first month of the invasion in the city of Mariupol. The film is based on the diaries of Mariupol journalist Nadi Sukhoruková, who wrote down everything she saw around her during the first month. This extraordinary Ukrainian film had its world premiere just a few days ago – on August 24, the Independence Day of Ukraine.

Arvéd / r. Vojtěch Mašek

Jiří Arvéd Smíchovský was a prominent hermeticist, occultist, practitioner of black magic and an extremely educated person with a brilliant memory. The movie Arvéd talks about how far we are able to go to achieve our goals. Jiří Arvéd Smíchovský was willing to go to the borders of hell itself. His life and death are still shrouded in many mysteries. During the war, as a Nazi confidant, he rescued Štěpán Plaček (Saša Rašilov) from a concentration camp. After the war, their roles are reversed, Plaček pays his debt and arranges that the court does not sentence Arved for collaboration with the Nazis to the death penalty, but only to life imprisonment. However, their mutual service does not end there…