Filmography

Cigar production has its right and left sides according to the direction in which the cut tobacco leaves are rolled. After World War II, the shredded world also polarised right and left. And in the sleepy valley of Spiš, hatred began to smoke. To the rhythm of the tobacconists' chants, the film tries to pull out of the smoke the stories of the violent displacements of people who suddenly found themselves on the wrong side of history.

Copyright RTVS, SFÚ, Peter Kerekes s.r.o. 2017

Our story begins in Bratislava on a cold and grey day in January 1997 at the funeral of Ludovit Dojc, where his son, Yuri Dojc, meets a very determined old woman, Mrs. Vajnorska, whose sole life’s work is visiting the survivors, those who live alone and can no longer get out of their homes or out of their beds – she visits them daily and brings news of the outside world. The encounter with that determined old lady inspires Yuri, he has the idea of recording the faces and later stories of the people she is visiting. What a dramatic departure from his usual commercial work and his famous nudes, work for which he has collected many plaudits. At first it is just her circle of friends and later the circle widens to their friends and friends of their friends. A decade later he has over hundred and fifty portraits, hundred and fifty stories: and that is just the beginning of his emotional, powerful, personal journey. It comes to an end when Yuri finds an old prayer-book amongst number of antique books from the Second World War. This prayer-book belonged to Yuri’s grandfather Jakub Deutsch, who died in Auschwitz, and it remains an only reminiscence of him.

Animated series for children with comedy, gags and adventurous elements. In their adventures, two friends, blind and shy Mimi, with her friend, restless and crazy Lisa, reveal secrets hidden in their close neighbourhood, while helping each other to recognize and accept not only their different perceptions of the world, but also reality itself. Together they experience fantastic adventures. Lisa with her magic ability to bring about strange situations and fun, and Mimi with her special gifts and skills perfected in her world behind closed eyes.

The “First” series presents women who wanted to be internally free, who wanted to realize themselves, some wanted to change the world or were just fulfilling their dreams.

Beatrix Pospíšilová-Čelková. The story of this “first female spy” has a special place in the context of the whole “First” cycle. This is not a woman who fought for her profession, who left behind a significant work. However, her life is a powerful testimony to the civil anti-fascist resistance during the World War II. She could have fulfilled her secret mission as a spy well, perhaps because she was a woman. In her case, her feminine weapons, charm, linguistic skills, self-control, and innocent-looking face were used in the war to quietly subvert the enemy. The section on Trixie is a revival of the historical memory of non-communist anti-fascist resistance. At the same time, her story touches on the still very much untapped subject of the status of our women and their involvement in the World War II.

The “First” series presents women who wanted to be internally free, wanted to realize themselves, some wanted to change the world or were just fulfilling their dreams. The first one who openly named the humiliating situation of women in Slovak society at the turn of the 19th and 20th century and took steps leading to their emancipation was Hana Gregorová. She was one of our first feminists. Hana Gregorová was the first feminist in Slovak society to openly name the humiliating situation of women at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries and to take steps leading to their emancipation. She was one of our first feminists. She broke free from the confining conditions of small-town society in contemporary Martin and found company among artists and intellectuals not only in the first Czechoslovak Republic but also in many European countries. Through her numerous activities in public life, she defended her ideals, which, in addition to the establishment of equality for women, included the protection of democracy and the alleviation of social disparities.

Animated musical film from the quarry. In a quarry, in the middle of a stone-cauldron, there are ten men working. They look like the stones they move in the mechanical rhythm of their labour. One evening, the daily rhythm is disrupted.

A documentary film about army cooks and how the everyday needs of thousands of armed stomachs affect the victories and defeats of statesmen. About the field kitchen as a model of a world where food preparation becomes a fight strategy; a fight for great ideals standing on strong legs of the kitchen table. The film is based on eleven recipes of the cooks since the Second World War till the war in Tchechenia; from France through the Balkans to Russia.

A portrait of different military cooks from all over Europe who served in various armies and have witnessed the European wars of the 20th century. Their recollections tap into a subjective view of historical events and one that diverges in some respects from conventional history. They take us behind the scenes of dates, facts, declarations of war, battles, and peace agreements. Cooking History shows the little secrets of these people, opens up a dimension of history one won't find in textbooks or archives. The directness of the anecdotes and destinies of the people in this film conveys a sense of life and death in the war apparatus, a sense of hope, longing, and survival strategies in the midst of destruction and despair.

The Pljeskavica Chapter
In Leskovica, Serbia, the best hamburger in the world, called pljeskavica, is produced and a “Pljeskavica Festival” is held each year. Mr Stankovic, nicknamed Saponya (Paw) made the biggest plieskavica at one of the festivals. When the Kosovo war broke out, he volunteered for the army. There he died. There are several versions of his death. According to one of them, he was hit by an American bullet bound to heat. Since Serbians did not use tanks for this reason nor did they shoot, the hottest place was the field kitchen. The second version has it that he rejected hiding in the woods, for he wanted to feed his comrades-in-arms in spite of the approaching American helicopters which finally hit him. His son got apprenticed as a cook; a year after his father’s death, he decided to break his father’s record. He baked a pljeskavica which was even bigger than that of his father Saponya…

An action-packed social comedy in which an innocent theft sets off a car chase. Free beer!
A bachelor film by Petr Važan on the theme of persecution, which won the SME Audience Award at the Azyl Short Film Festival (2008). The film was screened at the IFF Bratislava and at several short (student film) festivals.
Writer, director, director of photography: : Peter Važan
Camera assistant: Rodolfo Medina, Palo Hospodár
Hrajú: Vlado Zboroň, Milan Chalmovský
Strih: Rado Dúbravský
Sound: Peter Kudlička
Music: 1st Danube Improvisation (Marek Piaček)
Production: Filip Zbojek (...shit on it)
Acknowledgements. Biskupičová, A. Bodingerová, et al.

The story happens one spring afternoon in 1937. The afternoon is nostalgic; sea air mixes with the steam from steam-engines and screaming of seagulls, people are strolling at the sea-side and awaiting the concert of famous singer. In this lime and space four stories of four women - aviator Hana, post woman Eva, saleswoman Lilith and singer Ariel - blend together. All four women participate in one tragedy. We watch the story of the tragedy for four times, every lime from the point of different character, and we can see that these four women are bond together by much stronger bond than a common accident could be.

They are countries that are changing and modernizing with the times and; therefore, the old sculptures that signify a time gone by have to come down from their pedestals. Empty Pedestals asks uncomfortable questions. Why? Who will replace them? Perhaps the citizens themselves.

In the far-back limes of renaissance master of various arts Leonardo lived. His name is a legend today, but during his life, he was only a human being of flesh-and-blood. He had his private habits, inspirations and muses. Spectacular film reveals us one version about the genesis of the most famous artworks of this master.

In the no-man’s-land of memory: Civilian helpers of the border police were often more effective at tracking down illegal border crossers and upholding the system than the army. Even schoolchildren were recruited. To Drobček the puppet the border of barbed wire was explained as follows: “There are people, envious people, who are bothered by the fact that we live here peacefully. They think about ways to damage our efforts. And it’s from these people that we have to protect our beautiful land, our blooming garden.” With biting humour HELPERS tries to get to the bottom of the historical truth, always present but still not talked about. As the political system changes, the volatile situations caused by international border traffic give rise to new prejudices and problems.

A document about a swimming pool in the city of Kosice, the place where, according to the filmmakers’s slogan, “history used to go to bath”. Through stories that took place by the pool between 1936 and 2003, the film captures the 66 years of the popular spot as well as the same years in the history of Central and Eastern Europe. The mosaic of the individual stories reconstructs the history; people’s lives are not shown on the background of depersonalized history; people’s lives make the history.

Bouřlivák, filozof, básník a jeho cesta napříč uměleckými a filozofickými směry i následná proměna v prozaika. Proč procházel dvěma vlnami undergroundu s Jirousem a Topolem, neustálou opozicí a revoltou i kuriózní emigrací na Slovensko?

The documentary film Morytats and Legends of Ladomirova, is not meant to be a searching for experienced truths of people living in Ruthenian village – Ladomirova. Rather it tries to capture their subjective memories, often frozen in time and enclosed in everyday life. There were left only the feelings of joy, sadness and suffering reflecting the great history of the 20th century. There is no truth about past, it is only the imperfection of our mind that creates out of reality, sanguinary edifying stories - morytates and legends.