One month from now, on March 15, the Association of Slovak Film Clubs in cooperation with the Slovak Film Institute will open the jubilee 30th International Film Festival FEBIOFEST Bratislava 2023 in the newly renovated Slovak National Gallery. The five-day film marathon will continue in Cinema Mladosť, Cinema Klap, in Jurkovičová tepláreň and will then travel to selected cinemas and film clubs throughout Slovakia.

Film enthusiasts can look forward to Slovak premieres and films that they will not see anywhere else, as well as meetings with our and foreign film guests. “For example, with Vica Kerekesová, Martin Huba or the Ukrainian director Dmytro Sucholytkyj-Sobčuk,” explains festival program director Ondrej Starinský. The winner of the European Film Academy Award for Discovery of the Year 2022 will present PAMFIR, which premiered in Cannes, during the opening night. “I am personally looking forward to the legendary Czechoslovak erotic film Ecstasy, which we will screen with live music by Dalibor Kocian alias Stroon.”

The organizers of Febiofest included in the program films that resonated at world festivals or in the distribution of their home countries. “Whether they are films that are talked about, such as Darren Aranofsky’s The Whale, where Brendan Fraser once again drew attention to himself with his acting performance, films by well-known directors, such as David Cronenberg, or documentary or experimental films reflecting the current situation in the world – Manifesto – a film composed from videos from social networks from Russian teenagers,” explains Ondrej Starinský. According to him, just like every year, the festival cannot miss a film with the legendary actor Nicolas Cage. This time, viewers will be able to watch The Unbearable Weight of Huge Talent, in which Cage is seconded by current series star Pedro Pascal.

This year’s festival will offer the Limitless section, which brings interesting genre combinations, casts, and plot twists. There is space in it for budding and renowned creators. The only criterion for choosing movies is quality. As part of the Film+ section, Febiofest will present films by creators who have significantly influenced club film in recent years and whose works have resonated on the festival scene for the last year (for example, the aforementioned Darren Aranofsky or Nicolas Bedos). The “midnight section” of Planet Dark will once again offer the viewer the opportunity to spend late evenings at the festival in the company of dark genres that they would otherwise not have access to. The Mirror of the Past section already includes standard films that are experiencing a renaissance thanks to digitization, a special anniversary or theme, including the projection of an archive film with live music. In the competition section of short and feature-length films In the heart of Europe, films from Slovakia and all neighboring countries – Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Ukraine and Austria – will be presented. An international expert jury will decide the best short film and, in this year’s premiere, the best feature film. Febiofest does not forget the children’s audience either. The Film cabinet for children will consist of school screenings and screenings for the public combined with creative workshops for the youngest viewers.