Winner of the main prize at Cannes, winner of the Audience Award at Munich, or a surprise from Sundance? All this only at Cinematik.

The Cinematik IFF will take place in its traditional premises in Piešťany this year from 12 to 17 September. Once again, it will be an extraordinary year with a number of attractive screenings, including new releases from the current editions of the international festivals Cannes, Sundance, Berlinale, Venice, Locarno and many others. Films will be shown in exclusive Slovak premieres.

To name but a few, let us mention the title Anatomie d’une chute (Anatomy of a Fall, 2023), with which the French director Justine Triet won the Palme d’Or at Cannes this year.

Part courtroom drama, part portrait of a complicated woman, part analysis of a crumbling marriage, part coming-of-age tale, Anatomie d’une chute is also a story of a difficult coming-of-age. German actress Sandra Hüller (Toni Edmann) plays a writer accused of murdering her husband. The writer is also a key character in the story. As the only witness to the murder, he faces a moral dilemma. The film lasts two and a half hours, is gripping, layered and constantly forces us to think and reconsider our moral starting points.

We are also proud to present the Korean film Past lives (dir. Celine Song, 2023), which had a spectacular premiere at Sundance and was also in the running for the Golden Bear at the Berlinale. In Korean, there is a word In-Yun, which means ‘linked by fate’. When two people meet, it means that their fates have been intertwined in other lives.

This sensitive modern romance tells the story of the writer Nora, and her two loves – the childhood one, Hae-Sung, and the adult one, Arthur, set across continents and decades. Nora and Hae-Sung are separated by tens of thousands of miles, but they share an extraordinarily deep bond. After more than two decades apart, they meet in New York, where Nora lives with her American husband Arthur. An unexpected encounter with a fateful man forces Nora to ask the fundamental question – What if? The poignancy of the film lies not so much in the lost love as in the aspects of potential parallel lives.

Cinematik will also present the Slovak premiere of another top film – Karaoke Blues (Kuolleet lehdet, 2023) by the unmistakable Aki Kaurismäki, which won the Audience Award at the IFF Munich in its own right. A tragicomic story of two people who are brought together not only by love, but also by the struggle for a place in this world. They are in challenging life situations, yet they don’t give up. Gentle humour, a sensitive script and a precise choice of settings, music and cast – all this makes Kaurismäki’s latest film an unforgettable experience.