Five titles from the East Silver catalogue are part of the Visions du Réel Film Market, available to the accredited film professionals from April 14 until the end of the festival on April 25 and then for three more months.
Salt from Bonneville
Director: Simon Mozgovyi, production: Taras Bosak, Anton Khilman, Maksim Leschanka, Artem Koliubaiev (UA, GE, PL, 74 mins)
The story of this adventure drama is about Nazar and Max - two guys from Ukraine and an old soviet bike - and the ambitious goal they set themselves to beat the world speed record at Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, USA. This dry salt desert is the meeting point for hundreds of people from all over the world, who spend millions of dollars on their quest to become the next speed racing champion. Nazar and Max spend all their time assembling their bike in a small garage on the outskirts of Kyiv, traveling hundreds of miles and overcoming countless obstacles to make their dreams come true. And then, on the other side of the world, they both come to realize why they are there.
Listen to our True Story podcast with Simon Mozgovyi talking about his film
Peculiarity of Fisherman's Soul
Salt from Bonneville
Director: Simon Mozgovyi, production: Taras Bosak, Anton Khilman, Maksim Leschanka, Artem Koliubaiev (UA, GE, PL, 74 mins)
The story of this adventure drama is about Nazar and Max - two guys from Ukraine and an old soviet bike - and the ambitious goal they set themselves to beat the world speed record at Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, USA. This dry salt desert is the meeting point for hundreds of people from all over the world, who spend millions of dollars on their quest to become the next speed racing champion. Nazar and Max spend all their time assembling their bike in a small garage on the outskirts of Kyiv, traveling hundreds of miles and overcoming countless obstacles to make their dreams come true. And then, on the other side of the world, they both come to realize why they are there.
Listen to our True Story podcast with Simon Mozgovyi talking about his film
Peculiarity of Fisherman's Soul
Director: Ivana Pauerová Miloševičová, production: Anna Lísalová, co-production: Alena Müllerová (CZ, 77 mins)
A group of six good-natured men embark on a fishing foray to distant Norway. They are united by long-term friendship and desire for male adventure. Like another 15,000 Czechs, our heroes pack again their fishing rods, waterproof jackets, lunch boxes and cartons of beer and as every year, they leave behind their partners, pubs and homes. The sea gives them freedom; and the desire to fulfil their dreams propels them after their colossal catch. But first, they must overcome the bad weather, unreliable technology and their own amusing missteps. And perhaps it turns out that the most valuable thing cannot be found at the end of the rod. What are the secrets of male fishing expeditions?
A group of six good-natured men embark on a fishing foray to distant Norway. They are united by long-term friendship and desire for male adventure. Like another 15,000 Czechs, our heroes pack again their fishing rods, waterproof jackets, lunch boxes and cartons of beer and as every year, they leave behind their partners, pubs and homes. The sea gives them freedom; and the desire to fulfil their dreams propels them after their colossal catch. But first, they must overcome the bad weather, unreliable technology and their own amusing missteps. And perhaps it turns out that the most valuable thing cannot be found at the end of the rod. What are the secrets of male fishing expeditions?Director: Aljona Surzikova, production: Aljona Surzikova (EE, 90 mins)
The story is about Perestroika generation which was born in the last decade of Soviet era in Estonia and currently represents the Russian-speaking minority in European Union. Back in 1994, Aljona Surzhikova kept a collective diary – a Friends’ Book. That history repeats itself today in Facebook, the manifestation of contemporary online culture. All those people from the old-school analog Friends’ Book are now on Facebook. Between these portraits we see a memory of 1994: the situation in Estonia, departing Soviet tanks, the two Presidents Lennart Meri and Boris Yeltsin drinking champagne, and the tragedy of passenger ferry “Estonia”. The Friends’ Book reminds us of the music of the nineties and brings us back VHS stylistics.
How I Became a Partisan
The story is about Perestroika generation which was born in the last decade of Soviet era in Estonia and currently represents the Russian-speaking minority in European Union. Back in 1994, Aljona Surzhikova kept a collective diary – a Friends’ Book. That history repeats itself today in Facebook, the manifestation of contemporary online culture. All those people from the old-school analog Friends’ Book are now on Facebook. Between these portraits we see a memory of 1994: the situation in Estonia, departing Soviet tanks, the two Presidents Lennart Meri and Boris Yeltsin drinking champagne, and the tragedy of passenger ferry “Estonia”. The Friends’ Book reminds us of the music of the nineties and brings us back VHS stylistics.
How I Became a Partisan
Director: Vera Lacková production: Jan Bodnár, Vera Lacková, co-production: Jarmila Poláková (SK, CZ, 90 mins)
Documentary feature How I Became a Partisan comes with an unprecedented story of Slovak, Czech or Czechoslovak history. Main theme of the movie is searching for the fate of forgotten Roma partisans.
The author of the film is the Romani director Vera Lacková. Her search for and revealing of the stories of Romani partisans is based primarily upon the life story of her great-grandfather; Romani partisan Ján Lacko.
The autobiographical quest brings the director closer to the previously unpublished facts concerning our history and discovers stories about people, who regardless of their different ethnic origin stood united against evil.
Documentary feature How I Became a Partisan comes with an unprecedented story of Slovak, Czech or Czechoslovak history. Main theme of the movie is searching for the fate of forgotten Roma partisans.The author of the film is the Romani director Vera Lacková. Her search for and revealing of the stories of Romani partisans is based primarily upon the life story of her great-grandfather; Romani partisan Ján Lacko.
The autobiographical quest brings the director closer to the previously unpublished facts concerning our history and discovers stories about people, who regardless of their different ethnic origin stood united against evil.
Watch IDF Industry Session with Vera Lacková and Katalin Bársony
Read the inteview with Vera Lacková and Jan Bodnár
Director: Jindřich Andrš, production: Miloš Lochman, Augustína Micková, co-production: Ondřej Šejnoha (CZ, 91 mins)
Tomas has been working underground as a coal miner for 25 years. When the mine has to close due to the general decline of coal mining, he is offered a new career as a computer programmer. He enrolls in a state-funded re-education programme, preparing him for one of the most in-demand jobs. Tomas takes up the challenge and gets ready to transform his life radically. But will a forty something long-haired, subterranean punk rocker who has spent his whole life performing hard physical labour ever fit in with the young and trendy digital crowd?
Read the interview with Jindřich Andrš about A New Shift
Submit your films to the East Silver Market 2021, a unique film market dedicated solely to the documentary cinema of Central and Eastern Europe. All selected films become part of an online catalogue of documentary films East Silver 2021 and are automatically valid for the Ji.hlava IDFF programme pre-selection and the Silver Eye Award nominations. The submission is free of charge. APPLY HERE.
Tomas has been working underground as a coal miner for 25 years. When the mine has to close due to the general decline of coal mining, he is offered a new career as a computer programmer. He enrolls in a state-funded re-education programme, preparing him for one of the most in-demand jobs. Tomas takes up the challenge and gets ready to transform his life radically. But will a forty something long-haired, subterranean punk rocker who has spent his whole life performing hard physical labour ever fit in with the young and trendy digital crowd?
Read the interview with Jindřich Andrš about A New Shift
Submit your films to the East Silver Market 2021, a unique film market dedicated solely to the documentary cinema of Central and Eastern Europe. All selected films become part of an online catalogue of documentary films East Silver 2021 and are automatically valid for the Ji.hlava IDFF programme pre-selection and the Silver Eye Award nominations. The submission is free of charge. APPLY HERE.