FEBIOFEST Bratislava

The 30th edition of the international film festival FEBIOFEST Bratislava will take place from 15 to 19 March 2023. This year it brings you Oscar-winning films, new films by winning directors from the prestigious Cannes Film Festival and films screened at other A-list festivals in Toronto, Rotterdam and Venice.

Vica Kerekes, Martin Huba, Dmytro Sucholytkyj-Sobchuk and a screening with live music. The aim of the festival is not only to bring to the audience contemporary and archival films, domestic or foreign, but also to support the distribution, development and production of new films.

📍 FESTIVAL VENUES:

Mladost Cinema, Slovak National Gallery, KLAP Cinema (FTF VŠMU), Jurkovičova Tepláreň

PROGRAMME:

1. The Pink Panther

Directed by Blake Edwards,
US, GB,115 min, 1963

The first in a series of films about French Inspector Jacques Clouseau, played by the legendary Peter Sellers. The simple story of the inspector’s search for the famous thief, the Phantom, is interspersed with wacky scenes in which Sellers shows off his comedic talents. The film stars the beautiful Claudia Cardinale as the princess in possession of the legendary Pink Panther diamond, which the Phantom sets his teeth on. Masterfully directed by Blake Edwards, the film culminates in one of the most absurd car chases in cinema history.

2. The Butterfly View

Directed by Maxym Nakonechnyj
UA, CZ, HR, 107 min, 2022

After months spent in prison in the Donbass, soldier Lila, an aerial reconnaissance expert, returns home to her family. The repressed pain and trauma of her captivity are reflected in her dreams, as if something inside her is preventing her from moving on. Making its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, Maksym Nakonevny’s feature debut is a gritty and all-too-relevant testament to Ukrainian men and women fighters struggling for their integrity, their freedom and their future.

3. Short Film Competition

– Voice of the People

Directed by Josef Švejda
CZ, 20 min, 2022

A film about trying to understand the part of Czech society that protested against the government during the covid-19 pandemic and fell for various disinformation, poses a fundamental question: What do we mean by freedom?

– Einstand

Directed by Levente Kölcsey
HU, 9 min, 2022

An inspector comes to a small restaurant. The exact reason for his visit is unknown. The waitress and the cook try to decipher what is behind the inspector’s strange behaviour. Unsuccessfully.

– Diaper cake

Directed by Anastasija Babenko
UA, 18 min, 2021

Lena and Vitya are two kids in their early twenties who now have a baby. As new parents, they are coping with irreversible changes in their lives. Meanwhile, a diaper cake sits quietly in the room like a time bomb.

– The Revelation of John

Directed by Andrej Kolenčík
SK, 12 min, 2022

When Magda receives a long-awaited letter from Jan, her life becomes extraordinary. In this poetic film, the charming everyday intertwines in a harmonious union of two beings with moments of loneliness. A fleeting summer memory on the other side of the moon.

– Asterion

Directed by Francesco Montagner
CZ, SK, 15 min, 2022

In this silent visual poem, the massive body of a bull that died in the hot sun in the middle of a bullfighting arena appears on the table of a meticulous taxidermist. Working with the body, the man finds a way to come to terms with his own mortality and the impermanence of life.

4. The unbearable weight of immense talent
The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent
Directed by Tom Gormican
US,107 min, 2022

The iconic Nicolas Cage is known for overproducing films of diverse genres and levels of craftsmanship. His acting career is best summed up by his ten Golden Raspberry Award nominations (two for three films in 2012), one Oscar and one Oscar win. The Hollywood actor doesn’t owe anything to his reputation as a star with limitless talent and range in this action comedy, where Nicolas Cage plays Nick Cage, who shows off a plethora of his movie personae as he tries to satisfy the wishes of his biggest fan.

5. The Whale

Directed by Darren Aronofsky
US,117 min, 2022

Charlie’s is infected with optimism. He sees only the good in people and awakens our empathy. A nearly three-hundred-pound lonely teacher struggles to find his way back to his daughter Ellie. Under the weight of his own traumas, he struggles to come to terms with his past, shutting himself away in his apartment, dealing with stressful situations by overeating, but at the same time he is a beacon of goodness to himself and those around him. Darren Aronofsky has made a deeply human film about self-acceptance; Brendan Fraser excels in the actor’s comeback of the decade, picking up one award after another.

6. Pamphir
Directed by Dmytro Sucholytkyj-Sobchuk
UA, FR, PL, CL, LU, DE, 100 min, 2022

Western Ukraine on the eve of a traditional carnival. Pamfir returns to his family after months of absence. When his only child sets fire to the prayer room, Pamfir has no choice but to once again embark on a perilous journey on the edge of the law with irreversible consequences. Directed by Dmytro Sucholytsky-Sobchuk, the film premiered last year at the Cannes Film Festival in the Quinzaine des réalisateurs section and won the European Film Award as European Discovery of the Year 2022.

7. Stuntwomen
Cascadeuses
Directed by Elena Avdija
CH, 85 min, 2022

Falls down stairs, car crashes and fights are a daily routine for stuntwomen Virginie, Petra and Estelle. Sequences with crashed and burning cars look spectacular. The scenes in which these women are subjected to physical violence are harder to watch. Stuntwomen appear more often as victims, as still few action films have a woman in the lead role. This is both a shocking and fascinating finding: the role of female stuntwomen is mainly to endure violence, while the role of their male counterparts is to inflict violence.

8. Smoking causes coughing
Fumer fait tousser
Directed by Quentin Dupieux
FR, 80 min, 2022

King of cinematic oddities Quentin Dupieux, also known as Mr. Oizo, comes up with another bizarre tale that premiered in the midnight section of last year’s Cannes Film Festival. An unconventional group of superheroes in blue-and-orange stretch suits, calling themselves the Tobacco Patrol, kill monsters from outer space with nicotine and carbon monoxide. Is this a movie about superheroes? About saving the world? Anti-smoking propaganda? Or is this film about something else entirely? Step up to Dupieux’s big game and expect the unexpected.

9. Crimes of the future
Crimes of the Future
Directed by David Cronenberg
CA, 107 min, 2022

As the human species adapts to a synthetic environment, the body undergoes new transformations and mutations. Famed performance artist Saul Tenser, with the help of his partner Caprice, performs the metamorphosis of his internal organs in avant-garde public performances. In doing so, they are constantly watched by Timlin, an investigator from the National Organ Registry. Cronenberg returns to the body horror genre for which he became famous and which he defined with his debut, Scanners. The film premiered in the main competition at Cannes.

Location: Bratislava
Date: 15.03.2023 – 19.03.2023
Start: various
Entrance fee: 5 €

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