Alex Königsmark

In 1939, Czech diplomat Jan Masaryk flees to the United States to escape his recent past: Germany has invaded Czechoslovakia and he is now a man with no nation; because, as the Czechoslovak ambassador in London, he failed to win the support of the British and could not avert the fall of his country and the outbreak of the World War II.

The Slippers of Happiness is another film made by the Slovak Film Production in co-production with West German companies based on classic world fairy tales. After Slovak folk tales [The Greatest Peck in the World, Salt Over Gold] and the works of German fairy tale writers Wilhelm Hauff [The False Prince] and the Brothers Grimm [The Land of the Thrush's Beard, Perinbaba], screenwriter Alex Koenigsmark and director Juraj Herz were inspired by the famous fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen. It tells the story of slippers that the Fairy of Fortune enchanted so that they would fulfill every human wish and thus bring people happiness. The filmmakers humorously transferred the plot from Copenhagen to old Prague.

For being unable to find any decent job, an unconventional young man of working-class background gives up of all sorts of employment, and accompanied by his girlfriend, he tells his story in front of film cameras.

Tomislav is a former Partizan who continues his struggle after the war as a dedicated member of Tito's secret police. He meets and falls in love with a ballet dancer from a bourgeois family. His love affair with the class enemy and his slow adaptation to the post-war realities could seal his doom.

The final part of the ghost triptych will take Marta, Magdalena and Janko to the world of television. The 700th anniversary of the town of Milotín is being celebrated, there is a pilgrimage on the square, an improvised stage, prepared for the jubilee variety show, which will be broadcast on television. The director faints from this and so Marta's ghost has a body. The emcee arrives, and at the right moment the ghost of Magdalena takes possession of her body. It takes a while for the "fiery women" to settle into their new roles. The entire television crew helps them. The librarian Holoubek, who will act as an expert, knowledgeable about ancient chronicles and the history of two burned witches - Marta and Magdalena, will contribute mainly to their success.

Misadventures of a hapless young man from rural Bohemia who, in 1991, is finally free to cross newly open borders.