How does it feel to complete a new Slovak documentary film? How long does it take? What does a filmmaker take away from it, and what does it take away from the filmmaker? How does the filmmaker’s relationship to the subject evolve during the creative process? And once the film is finished, can they count on succeeding at international festivals? Join us for a live discussion, also broadcast on Radio Devín, with three documentary filmmakers whose films will premiere at this year’s One World festival.
Guests:
Tomáš Bača, director of the film Where the Stork Lands with Amália
Diana Fabiánová, director of the film Open
Andrea Kalinová, director of the film Replanted
Eva Križková, director of the One World festival
Hosted by Zuzana Golianová. The discussion will be conducted in Slovak and will be interpreted into Slovak sign language.
Screenings of student films from by the Department of Directing Documentary of the Film and Television Faculty of the Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava, will take place at IFDF One World 2025 and are open to the general public, including invited journalists. The event also serves as a presentation of the department for potential applicants. Therefore, it will naturally include an introduction to the opportunities offered by the FilmEU+ alliance for current and future students.
Date & Time: 22 October, 5:00 PM
Place: Velvet Revolution Square
To whom does the city belong? Join a dance-performance march through the city and experience what it feels like to walk the streets without fear.
Together we’ll learn a simple choreography that will become our shared language. We’ll walk, slow down, dance, and celebrate the idea of a city and a country where we all feel safe.
We protest, we dance, above all we come together.
A feminist city and an open country – may they be a human right, not just a wish.
Route: From SNP Square we’ll head together to the Lumière cinema.
After the march, there will be a screening of the documentary Million Moments, which follows the journey of the Million Moments for Democracy movement – from the mass protests at Letná plain to deeper questions of what truly matters. The screening will be followed by a discussion reflecting on the crisis of democracy and the role of civic initiatives in society. Do they stand a chance to change anything? And where is the line between civic activism and politics, and what happens if someone crosses it?
Guests:
• Mikuláš Minář, co-founder of the association A Million Moments for Democracy
• Amálie Kovářová, director of the film Million Moments
• Katarína Mišíková, Open Culture!
Hosted by Lukáš Osvald, People in Need
Tickets to the film: https://jedensvet.cinepass.sk/sk/tickets/?day=all
Choreography & Text: Zuzana Psotková / Music: Alex Gutrai & Ján Mikuš / Vocals: Ľudmila Klimková / Production & Protest know-how: Verona Němcová / Costumes & Visuals: Alexandra Tamásová, Verona Němcová / Concept: AW Team
A Georgian mother turns to surrogacy to secure a roof over her daughter’s head. What begins as a quick way to earn cash transforms into a profound sacrifice, questioning how far a mother can go.
Award: Human Rights Award – CPH:DOX Copenhagen 2025 (Denmark)
Olivia Popp, a member of the festival's international programming team, will introduce the film in English.
In 2019, almost three hundred thousand people gathered on the Letna Plain in Prague. They were demonstrating against the prime minister and the president, but above all, standing up for democracy. Two students who feared for the future of the Czech Republic addressed the crowd from a stage. This unique film about Mikuláš Minář and Benjamin Roll uncovers the gripping story of the founders of the Million Moments for Democracy movement. Director Amálie Kovářová spent six years capturing the behind-the-scenes of the group behind the largest political protest since the Velvet Revolution. It went through ups and downs, times of enthusiasm and lethargy, being showered with praise and disappointing its supporters. Mik and Ben experienced it all from the beginning. Two young men who believed that, even in the toughest moments, hope can prevail.
The screening will be followed by a discussion in Slovak and Czech with simultaneous interpretation into English:
How can we protect democratic values in a public sphere filled with polarisation, distrust, hate speech, disinformation, and ongoing crises? What role do citizens and initiatives such as Slovak Open Culture or the Czech association A Million Moments for Democracy, which have been mobilising the public to defend democracy, open culture, and European values, play in this? Do they stand a chance to change anything? And where is the line between civic activism and politics, and what happens if someone crosses it?
Guests:
- Mikuláš Minář, co-founder of the association A Million Moments for Democracy
- Amálie Kovářová, director of the film Million Moments
- Katarína Mišíková, Open Culture!
Hosted by Lukáš Osvald, People in Need
The event is part of the European project CLAD – Citizens & Libraries Against Disinformation, which aims to provide citizens in Slovakia and Portugal with tools to recognize disinformation. More information about the project: www.goethe.de/clad
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“If a cat has kittens at the riding school, that doesnʼt make them Lipizzans”, reads a commentary in an Austrian daily on the naturalization case of director Olga Kosanović, which was picked up by the media. Demarcation creates a sense of identity and cohesion: a strong sense of “us”. What is the feeling and what social structures underlie it? Based on a personal experience, this film explores the emotive question of belonging.
Far from Being Lipizzans is nominated for the award Another Gaze.
Student jury about the film:
Documentary film Far from Being Lipizzans (Noch lange keine Lipizzaner, 2025) is an authorial project of the director Olga Kosanović, based on her own experience of obtaining Austrian citizenship. However, she doesn’t limit the topic to herself; through “talking heads” and authentic footage of people trying to obtain Austrian citizenship, she broadens the perspective to encompass the system itself. Her documentary skilfully and precisely intertwines national issues and concepts and applies them to Austrian identity, only to bring it to its knees. Thanks to the film’s humour and levity, the audience can enter the dialogue without the film feeling ponderous. The director employs bold colours and short dramatic sketches, as well as statements from Austrian experts on the issue. The film forces the audience to think about what defines our citizenship and how someone can be a mere stray cat when even the Lipizzan is not purebred.