Radek Ševčík

12 October 2022. Terrorist attack in Bratislava. Death of two innocent LGBTI+ people - Juraj and Matúš. No political response. This monochromatic documentary requiem explores the unimproved state of Slovak society after the attack, as well as the wide range of feelings of LGBTI+ people, including the author himself. The repressed emotions fail to filter through even on a self-defence course. The well remains poisoned, the poison called disrespect still unable to be eradicated from it. Is it really necessary for people to live in fear?

An emigrant musician can’t recall the stories of his birthplace. A mother keeps the restaurant open, hoping her son returns. A cowboy wonders what’ll become of his cows. A widow cares for a chapel no one visits. And the oldest woman remembers everything—especially that—Estantegas. Under the burning sun, a strange figure roams the empty landscape of Portugal’s Minho with a boom pole, meeting the remaining inhabitants and capturing their memories on a sound recorder. An ethnographic ghost documentary about a future of a place that belongs to the past.

Director’s summer memoir. His personal dreamy short offers viewers an original insight into the Taiwanese karaoke culture, which has been making locals happy for generations. The viewer has the opportunity to feel the atmosphere of Jiantan Mountain, where the ancient meets the mundane, the natural meets the civilized, and where karaoke is as normal as the blowing of the wind, the sleeping Buddha or the singing of cicadas. The film with elements of traditional karaoke music video as a simple ephemeral impression of Taiwanese poetics and rituals in the context of China’s inherent threat.

The ancient Indian folk tale of the sage Narada’s transformation comes to life in the non-fiction fairy tale “A Sea to Remember”. Marked by the experience of his grandmother suffering from an illness that affects memory and perception of reality, the author decided to explore the thin line between reality and illusion. How can a retirement home and virtual reality be related? Can a director also be a prince? Aren’t our memories just an illusion? An immersive film miniature not only encourages contemplation on the uncertain nature of reality, but also invites to an intimate emotional experience using nostalgic home video as well.