Ars Poetica 2023- Films

Programme:

 

20. 11. 2023 – Monday

06:30 pm

Moderní poezie do škol /Modern Poetry for Schools/ - a series of film interpretations of poetry from the Silesian University in Opava

08:00 pm

15x15x5 (minisalon 1984) - dir. Janek Růžička, Czech Republic, Slovakia, 2023, 100 min

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21. 11. 2023 – Tuesday

06:00 pm

/The Truth is the Most Important Thing/ - dir. Maroš Brázda, Slovakia, 2023, 81 min.

08:00 pm

Kaprkód /KaprCode/ - dir. Lucia Králová, Czech Republic, Slovakia, 2022, 91 min.

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20. 11. 2023 – Wednesday

06:30h

River - dir. Jennifer Peedom, Australia, 2021, 75 min.

08:00h

Zavýjať po svojom /Howl in Your Own Way/ - dir. Asia Dér, Slovakia, Hungary, 2022, 90 min.

 

 

Annotation:

 

Moderní poezie do škol /Modern Poetry for Schools/

A selection of film interpretations of poetry by students and teachers of the Silesian University in Opava. The unique project was created to make the teaching of world and Czech literature more attractive in secondary schools. It turned out that the interpretation of modern poetry by means of film language is a very suitable tool for highlighting its multilayered forms and also an interesting creative challenge for students of film art.   

 

15x15x5 (minisalon 1984) - dir. Janek Ruzicka, Czech Republic, Slovakia, 2023, 100 min

A cinematic essay on the limits of freedom, framed by the story of a unique Czechoslovak artistic experiment of the Normalization era. In the "Orwellian" year of 1984, artist Joska Skalník sent wooden boxes around the Czechoslovak art scene with a call for free artistic play. The works of 244 artists make up the unique Minisalon ensemble – a diverse and ambivalent picture of its time.

 

Pravda je to najdôležitejšie /Truth is the most important thing/ – dir. Maroš Brázda, Slovakia, 2023, 81 min

A documentary portrait of film director and poet Eduard Grečner. A portrait of a man, an intellectual and a gifted filmmaker with consistently defined artistic intentions, which, due to circumstances and the era, he did not always managed to fulfil. Reflections on the ideological and aesthetic foundations that he consistently followed during his creative career, as well as reflections on the meaning and mission of art and on the principles that art should never give up.

 

KaprKód /KaprCode/ - dir. Lucia Králová, Czech Republic, Slovakia, 2022, 91 min.

A docu-opera exploring the nature of Jan Kapr, a controversial and progressive composer who was praised by Stalin and later banned outright in communist Czechoslovakia. Despite that, he performed abroad by prestigious musical ensembles. The plot follows a docu-libreto based on Kapr's personal, never-before-published archive that is full of his magnetic tapes, letters, notes and comedy sketches on 8mm film. 17 opera singers sing scenes from Kapr's life, including excerpts from police reports and amorous correspondence.

 

River - dir. Jennifer Peedom, Australia, 2021, 75 min.

Poetry, stories, religion, politics and conflict float down rivers. The River takes viewers on a journey through space and time, spanning six continents and using state-of-the-art filmmaking tools, including satellite footage, to present rivers from perspectives we have never seen before. The combination of image, music and spare poetic commentary results in a dreamy and compelling film that celebrates the wildness of rivers, but also draws attention to their vulnerability.

The River will be screened together with the short animated film Aj kameň tečie /Even the Stone Flows/ by Ové Pictures (Veronika Obertová, Michaela Čopíková).

 

Zavýjať po svojom /Howl in Your Own Way/ - dir. Asia Dér, Slovakia, Hungary, 2022, 90 min.

As a painter and poet, Lajos Kassák often became unwelcome during his lifetime (1887 - 1967), as he had found ways of personal revolt against the system and state ideology through his art. The film follows in his footsteps not only in Slovakia and Hungary, but also in Austria, the Czech Republic, France, Germany and Asia. It does not map his life biographically, but finds parallels between his experiences, work and artistic influence in contemporary artists, art historians or art lovers who today are going through similar life stories and worries as he once did.