In the Sign of Anniversaries

2018 will be a year of anniversaries in the Slovak Film Institute’s publishing plan. It will commemorate the 80th birthdays of three significant Slovak filmmakers, Juraj Jakubisko, Dušan Hanák and Elo Havetta, but also 55 years from the establishment of the Slovak Film Institute (SFI).

“This year’s audiovisual production of the Editorial Department will open with the issue of the DVD collection Best of Viktor Kubal which was already available on Blu-ray in 2017 and it consists of full-length animated films Brigand Jurko (Zbojník Jurko), The Bloody Lady (Krvavá pani) and a selection of short films made by animator Viktor Kubal,” states Marián Brázda, the Head of the SFI Editorial Department. The planned issue will be linked to the aforementioned anniversary of the three significant Slovak directors Jakubisko, Hanák and Havetta. “Three DVDs that have not previously been issued are included in the plan – Infidelity in a Slovak Way (Nevera po slovensky, dir. J. Jakubisko), Simple Pleasures (Tichá radosť) and Private Lives (Súkromné životy, both dir. D. Hanák). Elo Havetta’s films Celebration in the Botanical Garden (Slávnosť v botanickej záhrade) and Wild Lilies (Ľalie poľné) were already issued on DVD and now they will be prepared for issue on Blu-ray in 2019. The production in this area will be eventually complemented by The Case of Barnabáš Kos (Prípad Barnabáš Kos, dir. P. Solan) and The Shop on Main Street (Obchod na korze, dir. J. Kadár, E. Klos). Both will be prepared for simultaneous issue on DVD and Blu-ray,” outlines Brázda.

As for publications, the Department plans to issue the Proceedings of the 18th Czecho-Slovak Filmological Conference which was held in October last year under the title Illusive and Anti-Illusive in Film. In addition, various editorial activities will be carried out over the course of the year; these are related to the preparation of the second volume of History of Slovak Cinema carried out by a broad collective of authors under Václav Macek.

“In addition to the aforementioned anniversaries, the SFI will commemorate another significant anniversary in 2018, namely 55 years since its establishment. In this context, several promotional materials are planned. Among others, for instance, two catalogues. One of them will summarise all the publications issued by the SFI over the entire period of a sort of new history of the Editorial Department (after 1999), the second will offer an overview of all Slovak films available on DCP for screening purposes,” continues Brázda. A set of postcards from the most significant Slovak films or a book with photographic portraits of the most important personalities of the Slovak film and audiovisual environment as such, created by photographer Miro Nôta, will also be produced for the promotion of Slovak cinema.

The previous year was also strong as regards publication activities. “Not only because we managed to implement all the plans, essentially without making any considerable changes, but also in respect of the quality that we managed to achieve in the individual projects. If I were to highlight any specific publication activities from last year, it would be the already mentioned Blu-ray collection Best of Viktor Kubal and a 5-DVD collection with the documentary series Female First (Prvá) which was completed at the very end of the year. Both collections enjoyed a very positive reception and interest from the public immediately after being issued,” concludes Marián Brázda.

— text: Zuzana Sotáková —