Slovenčina                                                              29.03.2024, 02:51
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Meet Juraj Lehotský, director of Nina, now vying in East of the West section of 52nd Karlovy Vary IFF. Juraj has already started his directing career out big when his debut documentary film Blind Loves (2008) premiered in the prestigious Directors' Fortnight section of Cannes IFF, and was awarded the CICAE Art Cinema Award in 2008. He introduced his second feature film Miracle (2013) to the international audience at Karlovy Vary IFF in 2013, where he received a Special mention in the East of the West competition section. Four years later, Lehotský returns to Karlovy Vary to fight for the recognition of the jury in the same competition section with his latest film Nina (2017).

The main protagonist of the film is a twelve year old girl whose parents are getting divorced, a topic that seems more and more common in our society. Why have you decided to tell the story of a girl in this situation?
It happened very naturally. Both, scriptwriter Marek Leščák and I felt there are many families falling apart around us and that it is important to talk about it.

It may seem that as a theme it has been already treated many times in the past; nevertheless we found it interesting, to recount this situation from the child's point of view when it is forced to cope with the destruction of a safe intimate environment and adapt to new rules. Together with the spectator, we wanted to dive into the times of our own childhood and experience the tough situation of being abandoned by our closest ones.

The film never has been meant to criminalize divorce or give a moral lesson to parents; it should rather make us think about what we could lose.

Was the story inspired by real experiences of a child in such situation?
We have abandoned the idea to interview children from broken families very early on. We thought that not only it would be very insensitive, but also it would increase the danger of recalling unwanted psychic traumas. I rather think that we have, in a certain way, drawn inspiration from ourselves.

Even though we are lucky enough to live in complete families, each of us had to face some sort of crisis or difficult times in life. And since we both have children, we know very well what they like, what they need, or what they might feel, and too, those little things so easily overlooked by adults; especially when we are too busy dealing with own problems. Those times, when we tend to become egoistic and hurt people close to us.

Often these things seem trivial and small to us, but they are very important to our children.

Which part of the film preparation was the most demanding?
The essential part of the preparation was the scriptwriting. We strived to write a captivating, authentic and dramatic story with unique elements. I set up strict rules. I wanted to write a well-build script to facilitate shooting and to spend as little time as possible in the editor's room. We also invited Czech dramaturg Jan Gogola sr. who was able to stand aloof, and that helped us a lot.

How would you describe Nina? What is she like?
Nina has her own fantasy world and very unusual playfulness. It is a girl, who likes to dream and bring magic even to the most common things, and still, she walks her own path. I feel the viewer will be able to accept her easily.

I have to admit, I got to like Bibiana, the protagonist of Nina, very much. And for me that's the basic premise for the audience to fall for her as well.

Nina is a professional swimmer. Why did you choose this sport?
We wanted to portray the enormous strength and braveness through the sport. This opened up an opportunity to show how a child's endeavour and determination can make a difference.

Desire for victory is a metaphor of the whole story, not only regarding sports. Nina is fighting for her family, for her mom and dad.

How do you feel about being back in Karlovy Vary? What is your relation to the Festival?
As many colleagues from Slovak film industry, I get to meet my Czech counterparts and friends there. It seems like a peculiar centre of Europe, a prestigious festival attended by people who know quality films. For a Slovak film, it feels like the most natural kick-off.

Nina by Juraj Lehotský: East of the West - Competition @KVIFF

published:
updated: 29.06.2017