Interview with director and producer Mátyás Prikler, Slovak Producer on the Move 2014

Your short film Thanks, Fine was presented in Cannes Cinéfondation 2009. Was it helpful in any way in the making of your feature debut by the same title?

I´d say it was. You start to be noticed by the international audience and industry, it becomes a sort of a label. In 2010, we applied for financing for the feature-length film with the same title at the Slovak Audiovisual Fund, and back then we were already looked at as those who were in Cannes, and it probably helped. But there does not seem to be any automatic system, as Mira Fornay with the Rotterdam Tiger in hands applied for development of her new project and was not successful. However, I do not know the project, nor the circumstances.

After finishing Fine, Thanks you did not continue with the preparations of a project of your own, but took up producing films by other film directors. Why?

Because they are friends and asked me to. It is irrational to think that in our conditions you can make a film a year. It´s not possible on the creative and production level. I established MPhilms so that I could produce our film, later several people addressed me to cooperate with them. We started developing Children by Jaro Vojtek already during the final stages of Fine, Thanks. Slovakia 2.0 was different, because this film was our own author idea. Simply put, I feel more satisfaction producing author films of my friends in between my own projects than making my living as a director-for-rent.

What was the idea behind Slovakia 2.0 and what were the criteria to choose the directors of the individual short stories?

The idea was simple and clear: we were interested to find out what opinion the filmmakers have about our country after twenty years of her independence. We chose directors with a strong author´s viewpoint of the world. And, naturally, we had to combine them also based on availability.

What are you working on at the moment?

We are finalizing Children and preparing the film for international presentation and the domestic release. The same applies to Mirage by Szabolcs Hajdu, our minority co-production. In addition, we started the development of Without Guardian Angels, a film by Robert Lakatos

What are your expectations from Producers on the Move?

I see it as a good opportunity to meet new colleagues. The advantage is that, from what I know, we will have an organized program and it is up to us and some serendipidity whether successful meetings and potential new partnerships come about.