They shoot documentaries don’t they? Slovak documentary film

The manifest richness of Slovak documentary film is confirmed in the special section here dedicated solely to Slovak docs. We have presented several of them in previous issues. Talented young director Zuzana Piussi deals with “controversial” themes in her films, dissecting the myth of justice in Slovakia in her latest project The Disease of Third Power. The meta-textual documentary Ghost in the Machine focuses on Slovak cinematography. We can trace an interesting phenomenon: Slovak cineastes don’t hesitate to deal with hidden themes, whether they involve sexuality or justice. Skilled filmmakers are handling taboo subjects with dignity and without aspiring to sensationalism.

Needless to say, there’s another stream oriented towards serious personal issues. The cycle Unwanted Children after 12 Years maps the fate of kids with apparent or latent diseases. It compiles strong and emotional stories about the families which adopted these children, thus offering them the precious gift of a home and family, even if they don’t appreciate it or are unable to. Director Marek Šulík concentrates on an urgent desire for motherhood and the hardship of unreturned love. Viewers witness an intimate confession within a solemn family situation in the part We Shall Talk in Heaven, although the enthusiasm of the family members towards Nikolka is marvellous. There are no fake sentiments here and the filmmakers present significant questions to reflect upon for individuals as well as society.

Personal integrity represents another important issue. Nicky’s Family (by Matej Minac) tells the story of Nicholas Winton, who saved 669 innocent children from a concentration camp just before the outbreak of the Second World War. It’s a spark of hope coming from a really dark chapter of our history. The view from the other side is offered by Dušan Hudec, who maps the life of Jossi Steiner, following the rabbi’s struggle for his identity and to help others remember, or rather to show what it means to be a Jew (The Whole World is a Narrow Bridge).

The myriad of motives and subjects cannot even be categorized. However there is one common event which was processed by different documentary makers. The first Gay Pride event in Bratislava was really a challenge, not only for participants and national media, but also for filmmakers and even artists. The film Love Thy Neighbour uses the event to address issues of sexuality versus religion, as well as sexuality in the public sphere. Another prism is used in the video art project by Tomáš Rafa, New Nationalism in the Heart of Europe, which focuses on the same event to question the limits of nationalism and extremism. One occurrence can generate several works, ideologically and formally different.

In general, there’s a really interesting shift towards using only images to make people reflect, without traditional “talking heads” to do the explanation. The call for sophisticated, intelligent, ironic and self-reflexive documentaries is satisfied by award-winner Peter Kerekes, with a film dedicated to a national “institution” - Slovak Tavern. A historical overview centres on the tradition of the tavern, but the tavern is also represented as a place where inspiration resides. These are just a few of the ideas that Kerekes pursues in his stylistically appealing work.

So, the Slovaks do shoot documentaries. Actually, world-renowned ones.

By Martin Kudláč