World-premiere of KOZA in FORUM
Premiering in Berlinale Forum, Koza, feature debut by Slovak director/producer Ivan Ostrochovský tells the story of a former Olympic boxer Peter Baláž, nick-named Koza, who after years of missing out on trainings, returns to the ring. To earn money and to make up his partner's mind about an abortion, he sets on a tour with his manager. The film was nominated for the Best First Feature Film Award by Festival Director Dieter Kosslick, a Jury consisting of Fernando Eimbcke (MX, director), Joshua Oppenheimer (USA, director) and Olga Kurylenko (actress, UA- FR) will decide about the Award.
| KOZA Koza | |||
| SK, CZ / 2015 / 75 min. / fiction | |||
| Director: | Ivan Ostrochovský | ||
| Cast: | Peter Baláž, Zvonko Lakčević, Ján Franek | ||
| Producers | Marek Urban (SK), Ivan Ostrochovský (SK), Jiří Konečný (CZ) | ||
| Prod.companies: | sentimentalfilm (SK), endorfilm (CZ), Česká televize (CZ), Rozhlas a televízia Slovenska (SK), Punkchart films (SK) | ||
| Supported by: | Slovak Audiovisual Fund, Ministry of Culture of the Slovak Republic, State Cinematograhy Fund, MEDIA Programme |
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| Peter "Koza" Baláž is a former Olympic boxer. He and his girlfriend Miša live in a dilapidated housing estate, constantly struggling to make ends meet. Miša learns that she is expecting a baby. She decides to terminate her pregnancy and she wants Koza to find the necessary money. Koza, who has not trained in a while, steps back into the ring, hoping to earn some much-needed cash and possibly change Miša's mind. He and his manager, Zvonko, embark on a "tour" through uncountable fights, where success seems impossible and yet is never forfeited. How many blows must Koza take, in order to earn a decent family life? Koza introduces Peter Baláž who competed at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, and Ján Franek, Olympic medallist from Moscow 1980, as his coach. Featuring the outstanding performances of non-professional actors and blurring the lines between representation and presence, Koza is a powerful and haunting challenge to the concept of authenticity. | ||
| Producers / contact: | sentimentalfilm Marek Urban / +421 915 574 258 / marek@sentimentalfilm.com Ivan Ostrochovský / +421 915 606 088 / ivan@punkchart.sk |
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| Festivals & Sales: | Pluto Film Patricie Pouzarová / +49 157 8227 4916 / patricie@plutofilm.de |
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| International PR: | mm filmpresse Sylvia Müller / +49 176 2425 3309 / mueller@mm-filmpresse.de |
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| Screenings: | Feb 7 / 16:45 / CinemaxX 1 (EFM) Feb 8 / 20:00 / Cubix 9 (world premiere) Feb 9 / 19:30 / CinemaxX 4 Feb 10 / 12:30 / Arsenal 1 Feb 11 / 15:45 / CinemaxX 6 (press screening) Feb 12 / 16:45 / CinemaxX 2 (EFM) Feb 13 / 21:30 / CineStar 8 |
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| Website of the film: | www.kozamovie.com | |
 Presskit for download |
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| IVAN OSTROCHOVSKÝ (1972) DIRECTOR pRODUCER |
Graduated in documentary filmmaking from the Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava, after which he completed his post-graduate studies at the Academy of Arts in Banská Bystrica. Ostrochovský is co-owner and producer at sentimentalfilm and Punkchart films. He directed several awarded short films and was the co-producer of Made in Ash (2012) by Iveta Grófová (Slovak national nomination for the Best Foreign Language Film category of the Oscars©). His feature documentary debut Velvet Terrorists (2013), which Ostrochovský co-directed with Pavol Pekarčík and Peter Kerekes, received the FEDEORA Award at Karlovy Vary IFF, and was presented at the Berlinale´s Forum in 2014 in its international premiere, receiving the Tagesspiegel Readers' Award. His feature debut Koza (2015) received the Works in Progress Award for the most promising project at Karlovy Vary IFF 2014. | ||
| FILMOGRAPHY |
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| 2015: KOZA / Koza (feature debut) | |||
| 2013: VELVET TERRORISTS / Zamatoví teroristi (feature documentary / co-dir.) |
More information at:
www.berlinale.de
www.arsenal-berlin.de
www.kozamovie.com
published: 27.01.2015
updated: 08.02.2015