The celebration of the 20th anniversary of the Cinematik International Film Festival in Piešťany will start with a truly spectacular event. It will be opened by the third feature film by director Tereza Nvotová, Father, with whose festival premiere the organisers promise the audience a truly exceptional and emotionally powerful experience. The drama, filmed in Slovak-Czech-Polish co-production, stars Milan Ondrík, Dominika Morávková, and Aňa Geislerová.
The drama "Father" (2025) is inspired by real events in Slovakia and abroad, offering the story of a father who makes a tragic mistake. For this, he then bears consequences not only within his relationship with his wife, friendships and work relationships, or in court proceedings, but especially, and perhaps first and foremost, within his relationship with himself. Milan Ondrík and Dominika Morávková will star in the main roles, bringing a perhaps surprising story of love and marital partnership put to perhaps the hardest test.
„When I saw the film for the first time at a preview screening at the beginning of the year, I was extremely emotionally moved. Tereza Nvotová chose a challenging cinematic approach for our environment and achieved a feeling that you experience the story with the main character. All her feature films advance interest in our film abroad, and that is a true presentation of culture. I work with emotions within the programme team all year round, but there are only a few films that can be so evocative and truthful at the same time.” festival programme team member Peter Konečný speaks about the film that will be screened with the rich participation of creators, actors and actresses within the framework of the Cinematik opening ceremony on September 10.
The suggestiveness of the film, with its tragic plot, is amplified by the emphasis on long, intense shots, for which Tereza Nvotová (Svetlonoc, Špina) enlisted the help of experienced Polish cinematographer Adam Suzin (Nepela). With their assistance, the plot draws the viewer directly into the skin of the central character, forcing them to look at a seemingly clear-cut situation with an open mind.
According to Peter Konečný, it is a fundamental film that fully deserves the role of the opening title at the twentieth Cinematik: „I consider my father to be one of the most important films in our cinematography over the last twenty years. This is one of the most impressive titles in the entire history of Cinematik. We regularly dedicate a large part of our programme to quality Slovak films, and we believe that Cinematik will continue to do so in the future."
Bringing the highest quality and most inspiring new works by domestic filmmakers to audiences in premieres is, after all, one of the festival's most important tasks – and at the same time, one of the reasons why it enjoys its stable popularity.„I immensely appreciate that the jubilee 20th edition of Cinematik will open with the national premiere of a Slovak co-production of world-class quality. These are the moments when I consider the work on our festival's programme to be the most important in the world. To bring addictive emotional and sensory challenges to our audiences, which I consider to be exceptional." delivers Final.
The Cinematik International Film Festival will be held from 10 to 15 September this year, and its six-day programme, in addition to Tereza Nvotová's *The Father*, will also bring dozens of other powerful and unique cinematic experiences. Visitors to the event will be among the first to see many of them, while others will arrive in Piešťany already applauded and adorned with awards from prestigious international festivals in Cannes, Toronto, Venice, Berlin, or Karlovy Vary. For those interested in attending this celebration of free film art and culture in person, discounted accreditations are now on sale on the festival's official website.