Juraj Nvota

The film Mečiar is the confession of the young director Tereza Nvotová about Vladimír Mečiar and the influence that this politician had on Slovak society, but also on the life of Tereza herself. When the totalitarian communist regime fell in Czechoslovakia in 1989, Tereza was one year old. The leaders of the Gentle Revolution then decided to hold an audition for the Minister of the Interior, to which Vladimír Mečiar, an unknown business lawyer from the Slovak countryside at the time, applied. After success in bankruptcy, Vladimír Mečiar reaches the political top, from where he rules the country with a series of questionable practices. Against the background of events such as the division of Czechoslovakia or the kidnapping of the son of the president of the Slovak Republic, Tereza and her peers relive their childhood.

This simple story is the feature debut for well-known Slovak theater and television director Juraj Nvota. Set in a Slovak village at the turn of the last century, the story teems with passion, and repressed and hidden emotion. It delves into the search for identity, investigating both love and hatred, while dramatizing the tragic relationship between an adolescent girl (Tatiana Pauhofová) and her ambitious father (Ondrej Vetchý). Set against the striking though simple backdrop of a picturesque, even idyllic, landscape - one ostensibly cut off from any important historical, political, or social context whatsoever - the arrival of an unwanted individual evokes the onset of a cruel drama.

Olga is a complex young woman desperate to break free from her unfeeling family and social conventions. With her Louise Brooks-like tomboyish looks she drags herself, chain-smoking, from one job to another until she appears to find her niche as a truck driver. Although she has female lovers she does not form a bond with any of them; instead she clashes, time and again, venting herself in wordless emotional outbursts and other behavioural extremes.

Jakub, a dreamer and budding magician, juggles between parcels and services rendered to the villagers. His eyes cross that of the beautiful gypsy Jolanka. Together, they will try to live a first and big love, despite the pressure of their respective communities.

A new man comes into the world and his fate is watched over by three female judges. One of them endows him with exceptional qualities, the second puts many obstacles in his way and the third advises him how he can find his happiness in life in spite of everything. But what happens if one of the women judges fails in her task? In a fairy tale story full of suspense, humour and surprises, the kind and wise girl Johanka finds out for herself... There will be a stubborn prince, an unjust and greedy uncle, or a forgetful fairy Tea, but most of all a lot of love, which, as it happens in fairy tales, will help Johanna to overcome almost all the obstacles of fate.

The life and times of the vagabond, prisoner, swordsman, photographer, painter, wanderer, action maker, performer, seeker of joy and freedom Alex Mlynárčík in moving images, paintings, photographs, life-plays and controversies of the times in which he lived and lives. The story of a century in which the modern identity, culture, and basic values of Slovakia were formed - as part of Czechoslovakia, but also as an independent state, and especially as part of the European community, to which our protagonist inseparably belongs with his work and life. Alex Mlynárčik, through his work, friends, opinions and speeches, has become an organic part of this story - and especially its co-creator.

New husband Adam reluctantly takes a job with state security in a totalitarian country, thus becoming a secret police agent. This "contract with the devil" helps secure a flat for the happy couple, as well as a prosperous future. However, he soon finds out that he too is under surveillance.

A wedding is supposed to be a joyous occasion, but things can go awry. When an uninvited guest turns up at the church and later at the reception as well, the newly-weds’ day turns sour. Shadows of the past can blight the most sumptuous of banquets and rend the most affectionate of embraces.