Zuzana Križková

To have the opportunity to play in a movie, many a girl dreams. To look behind the scenes of filmmaking, to become well-known, popular, maybe even famous... that's one side of the coin. The other side demands discipline, self-denial, perseverance, which is not so attractive to people anymore. This is what Viki, an eighth-grader, has to go through on her way to film fame.

War takes its cruel toll, which everyone must pay. It hits a small Slovak village especially hard, where the struggle for a bare life becomes a test of human character. For two impoverished friends, Jakub and Maja, struggling through poverty is more than difficult. Jakub delivers sour milk from somewhere on his cart to the entire village and lives in a dilapidated house with his sister Tereza, whose caregiver and guide through life is the experienced woman Mara, who provides herself with money from seduced soldiers. Maja, on the other hand, is a foundling and homeless man who does whatever he can to survive the next day. The only consolation for the two inseparable friends are the circulating tales of a kind of promised land, where there is no poverty or hunger, and where they could both go. Only this vision, this idea alone keeps the two of them and the rest of the village on their feet, and gives them hope for a better tomorrow.

City of the Shadows is original Slovak crime TV series, broadcast since April 11, 2008 on the Markíza. It was produced by DNA Production company. The episodes are based on real events. TV series received the "Televízna udalosť roka“ Award by film critics.