09/04/2019 - The Slovakian Film and Television Academy had a few surprises up its sleeve for its annual awards ceremony

Marek Leščák (left) and Martin Sulik on stage collecting their Best Script Award for The Interpreter (© RTVS)

Last year witnessed a Slovakian invasion at the Czech Film Critics’ Awards (see the news). However, the tables turned this year at the Slovakian national film awards, dubbed The Sun in a Net and organised by the Slovakian Film and Television Academy, as three of the four movies nominated in the Best Film category were helmed by Czech directors. Jan Švankmajer’s surreal meta-film Insect [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Jan Švankmajer
film profile], Robert Sedláček’s biopic drama Jan Palach [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] and another biopic, Toman [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Ondřej Trojan, were all vying for the top prize, alongside Slovak helmer Martin Šulík’s road dramedy The Interpreter [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Martin Šulík
film profile]. In addition, a cavalcade of Slovak and Czech co-productions were present on the list of nominees, which comprised 29 fiction, documentary and animated films that had applied for the annual honours. There were high expectations for the Czech-Slovak title Toman, which had 14 nominations, while 12 nods were racked up by the Slovak-Czech-Austrian co-production The Interpreter.

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Against all the odds, Toman only managed two wins, for Best Supporting Actress (Kristína Boková) and Best Costume Design (Katarína Štrbová Bieliková). The champion of the past year’s Slovakian film scene thus turned out to be Martin Šulík’s dramedy starring Peter Simonischek, of Toni Erdmann [+see also:
film review
trailer
Q&A: Maren Ade
film profile] fame, and Oscar-winning Czech director Jiří Menzel. The Interpreter won the Best Film Award, also scooping Best Actor for both Menzel and Simonischek, Best Script, Best Cinematography, Best Music and Best Director for Šulík. 

Interestingly enough, Marek Kuboš, whose self-reflective documentary The Last Self-Portrait [+see also:
trailer
interview: Marek Kuboš
film profile] netted the Best Documentary Award, was also nominated in the Best Director category. Another curiosity was the transnational hat-trick by legendary Czech surrealist Jan Švankmajer and his son Václav Švankmajer, who scooped the Best Stage Design Award for their joint work on Insect at the Czech Film Critics’ Awards, the Czech Lions and The Sun in a Net ceremony.

Here is the complete list of The Sun in a Net winners: 

Best Film
The Interpreter [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Martin Šulík
film profile] – Martin Šulík (Slovakia/Czech Republic/Austria)

Best Documentary
The Last Self-Portrait [+see also:
trailer
interview: Marek Kuboš
film profile] – Marek Kuboš (Slovakia)

Best Animated Film
Mimi & Lisa: Christmas Lights Mystery - Katarína Kerekesová, Ivana Šebestová

Best Director
Martin Šulík – The Interpreter

Best Actress
Zuzana Bydžovská – Jan Palach [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] (Czech Republic/Slovakia) 

Best Actor
Jiří Menzel, Peter Simonischek – The Interpreter 

Best Supporting Actress
Kristýna Boková – Toman [+see also:
trailer
film profile] (Czech Republic/Slovakia)

Best Supporting Actor
Marián Geišberg – The Magic Quill (Czech Republic/Slovakia)

Best Script
Marek Leščák, Martin Šulík – The Interpreter

Best Cinematography
Martin Štrba – The Interpreter 

Best Editing
Maroš Šlapeta – Válek (Slovakia)

Best Music
Vladimír Godár – The Interpreter

Best Sound
Ivo Špalj – Insect [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Jan Švankmajer
film profile] (Czech Republic/Slovakia)

Best Make-up and Hairstyling
Zuzana Paulini, Juraj Steiner – Talks with T. G. Masaryk [+see also:
trailer
film profile] (Czech Republic/Slovakia) 

Best Costume Design
Katarína Štrbová Bieliková – Toman 

Best Stage Design 
Jan Švankmajer, Václav Švankmajer – Insect