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Strong Slovak representation at the festival in Clermont-Ferrand

The prestigious Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival (28 January – 5 February 2022) features two Slovak short films in the official program, director and producer Martin Smatana will present his upcoming film at the Euro Connection co-production forum and for the fourth time the Slovak Film Institute will offer an informational and promotional point for Slovak cinema at the Short Film Market (31 January – 4 February 2022).

Joanna Kożuch’s animated short Once There Was a Sea... will international premiere in the International Competition section. The animated documentary brings a mosaic of last human stories from the glittering bottom of dying Aral Sea. Svetlana stares into the salt desert with her only eye. Gulshat runs an empty hotel. Captain records traces of the vanishing sea, and Sergei drives tourists across its bare, glittering seabed. The last people of Mo´ynoq who remember the original shore of drying Aral Sea… Their days are intertwined with memories of the glorious past of the fishing power and dreams of the return of the great water. The present is a cemetery of ships that will never set sail from the port again.

After world premiere at the Locarno Film Festival and winning several festival awards, Diana Cam Van Nguyen's animated documentary Love, Dad about ties and gaps between a child and a parent is heading to Clermont-Ferrand’s LAB Competition. Diana was 11 when her dad spent a year in prison. They could not be together but her dad wrote to her letters full of love. Now, 15 years later, no bars set them apart but they are not close any more. Diana blames her dad for what has happened in the meantime. That he left their family in order to get a son-successor from another woman. Eventhough such a thing is tolerated in parents´ home Vietnam, it is hardly understandable for Europe-based Diana. Being assured by dad´s letters from the past full of love, Diana tries to re-connect with him and accept that parents sometimes do things one don´t understand.

For the fourth time, in cooperation with the Czech Film Center and the Slovenian Film Centre, the Slovak Film Institute is participating in the Short Film Market, where Slovak short films will be presented to film professionals from all over the world under the umbrella name Central European Cinema.

Euro Connection

Euro Connection is the European Short Film Co-production Forum taking place each year at the Clermont-Ferrand Short Film Market. This business platform aims at fostering partnerships between European production companies for short film projects. In collaboration with the European correspondents, a dozen producers are also invited to be in the Producers Focus. This year, Slovakia is represented by an animated short film project Hello Summer (dir. Martin Smatana, Veronika Zacharová), included into the final line-up thanks to the nomination through the Slovak Film Institute.

Come and meet us at Central European Cinema Stand!

Representative of the Slovak Film Institute in Clermont-Ferrand: Lea Pagáčová, lea.pagacova@sfu.sk

Newsletter Slovak Short Films 2021 – 2022

web: www.clermont-filmfest.org/en

published: 14.01.2022
updated: 18.01.2022