28/09/2012 - The Slovak Film and Television Academy nominated the dense drama from adebuting director along with the dark short animation film The Last Bus

Called "an uncompromising but highly watchable film" by Screen Daily, Made in Ash [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Iveta Grófóva
interview: Jiří Konečný
film profile] by Iveta Grófová is one of the few films coming from Slovakia to deal with contemporary problems and moreover to present a unique stylistic vision. Now, a third of the The Slovak Film and Television Academy have agreed to choose it as the country's representative in the Oscar race.

In the film Dorota, a high-school graduate, leaves Slovakia for the most western Czech town by the name of Aš, hoping to find a decent job at the local textile factory. However, the reality is much harsher than expected. As a documentarist, the director strives to expose an environment with all its obscurities and harsh characteristics and situate a life-altering story within it. Stylistically, the film develops in long shots without an ambition for instant drama and is also strongly influenced by the use of non actors – the protagonist Dorota Billá was found by the director in a Romany settlement in north-east Slovakia.

The film opened the East of the West section at Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, a competitive selection of first and second films by directors from central and eastern Europe. The film was co-produced by endorfilm, which was also responsible for A Night Too Young, which was selected this year for the Berlinale Forum, as well as the successful documentary film The Matchmaking Mayor (2010).

Another film to represent Slovakia in the Oscar race is the short animated film The Last Bus by Ivana Laučíková and Martin Snopek, which has previously won several awards at Tampere and Stuttgart. This dark movie, with surrealist touches, takes places in the 1950s when war was still in the air. The Stuttgart festival jury mentioned that “with traditional and disturbing imagery the filmmakers manage to mesmerize us”.