Thankfully, Cinematik, also known as International Film Festival Piešťany, which is one of the largest film gatherings in Slovakia, did not have to face the tough decision of whether to cancel or postpone this year’s 15^th edition. The gathering is taking place as usual in the middle of this month (10-15 September), although it will be unspooling under the “new normal” regime imposed by preventive hygiene measures.

The organisers have capped the number of theatregoers to 500 inside venues, screenings after 11 pm have been cancelled (the Cult and Beyond midnight section has been moved to next year), only theatregoers with accreditations (bought online) will be eligible to attend screenings, ticket sales have been abandoned, and face masks will be mandatory in and around the festival’s venues. The 15^th edition will open with Ivan Ostrochovský’s Berlinale drama Servants [+lire aussi :
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interview : Ivan Ostrochovský
fiche film], ahead of its domestic theatrical release, scheduled for 11 November.

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This year’s country in focus will be Poland, with the festival introducing local audiences to the semi-autobiographical, melancholic, surreal feature debut by animator Mariusz Wilczynski, Kill It and Leave This Town [+lire aussi :
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interview : Mariusz Wilczyński
fiche film]; Jan Jakub Kolski’s post-war drama Pardon [+lire aussi :
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fiche film], co-produced by Slovakia; and Michał Bielawski’s The Wind. A Documentary Thriller [+lire aussi :
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interview : Michał Bielawski
fiche film], which bowed at this year’s Slamdance and was co-produced by Slovak filmmaker-producer Peter Kerekes. In addition to the “Poland Magnified” section, Respect, a retrospective dedicated to a single personality, will focus on the filmography of Wojciech Smarzowski, including his latest and most controversial oeuvre, Clergy [+lire aussi :
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interview : Wojciech Smarzowski
fiche film].

The main competition section, Meeting Point Europe, will showcase a batch of European titles that have successfully travelled the festival circuit, such as Oliver Laxe’s Fire Will Come [+lire aussi :
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interview : Óliver Laxe
fiche film]; Mark Jenkin’s feature debut, Bait [+lire aussi :
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interview : Mark Jenkin
fiche film]; the sci-fi comedy Jesus Shows You the Way to the Highway [+lire aussi :
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interview : Miguel Llansó
fiche film]; and Václav Marhoul’s World War II drama The Painted Bird [+lire aussi :
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interview : Václav Marhoul
fiche film]. Cinematik will also be introducing a handful of festival titles having their local premiere, with the “Cannes-labelled” Slalom [+lire aussi :
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interview : Charlène Favier
fiche film] by debuting writer-director Charlène Favier, the Rodrigo Sorogoyen-directed drama Madre [+lire aussi :
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interview : Rodrigo Sorogoyen
fiche film], the Danish family drama A Perfectly Normal Family [+lire aussi :
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fiche film] by Malou Reymann and Jessica Hausner’s sci-fi drama Little Joe [+lire aussi :
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interview : Jessica Hausner
fiche film].

Domestic documentary films will be vying for an award in the Cinematik.doc competition section, where Viera Čakányová’s experimental essay FREM [+lire aussi :
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interview : Viera Čakányová
fiche film] will be screened along with Jaro Vojtek’s Paradise on Earth [+lire aussi :
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fiche film] and Pavol Barabáš’ latest film, Everest – The Hard Way, reliving the tragic story of a foursome of Slovak climbers and the ultimate mountaineering challenge that they take on – conquering the steepest and highest mountain face in the world.

The full line-up of the 15^th edition of Cinematik, International Film Festival Piešťany is available here.