At this year's Cinematik IFF in Piešt'any, nearly 100 feature and short films were screened in 7 festival cinemas from 10 to 15 September, often to sold-out houses. Once again, the festival's attendance set new records. The cinemas recorded 20,439 admissions and, together with the accompanying events, the total attendance reached more than 22,000 spectators.
The international competition Meeting Point Europe presents a selection of the best of European feature films that have emerged in the last year. The winners were decided by an expert jury of 14 FIPRESCI film critics.
The Meeting Point Europe award went to the German drama Looking into the Sun (In die Sonne schauen) by Maschi Schilinski. Four girls – Alma, Erika, Angelika and Lenka – live out their youth on the same farm in northern Germany. As the house changes over the centuries, echoes of the past resound within its walls. Although time separates them, their lives begin to mirror each other. Directorial revelation of the decade Mascha Schilinski has made a hypnotic family saga that clearly appealed to the jury of the Cinematik IFF.
The second competition section Cinematik.doc is fishing in domestic waters – only Slovak documentary filmmakers are competing for the prizes. The winner of the Cinematik.doc Literary Fund Award is Martin Kollár for his Slovak-Czech title Letopis. The film captures everyday stories and creates a collective portrait of contemporary reality – not only as a documentation of the present, but also as an archive for the future. Through images, it reveals absurd routines and strange habits, as well as our tendency to lean on systems that we also question. Letters offers a new way of seeing our choices, and encourages viewers to reflect on their actions now. The jury of Ester Geislerová (Czech Republic), Daniela Hanusová (Slovakia) and Daniel Rihák (Slovakia) awarded the prize for „Exceptional visual sensitivity that invites us to slow down and shows how focused observation can reveal the subtle connections between the absurdities of everyday life and broader social structures.“
The Piešt'any Mayor's Award went to director Miro Remo for his Czech-Slovak documentary Radier to go mad in the wilderness. Franta and Ondra are inseparable twins, living away from civilisation in the deep embrace of nature. Their daily routine, steeped in peace and harmony with the outside world, begins to crack under the pressure of internal contradictions. Franta longs for freedom, change and adventure, while Ondra clings to the security of immutability. But their dual existence crumbles like a mirror – same appearance, different desires. The jury praised the „extraordinarily free, playful, and imaginative cinematic language, which, like a roller coaster of emotions, presents the world of twins living outside civilization in all its poetry, prose, gentle reverie, and stark rawness.“
The audience of the festival also chose their award from all the films through voting. The number of ballots cast exceeded fifteen thousand. The Audience Award of the 20th Cinematik went to the Czech-Slovak documentary The Great Patriotic Trip, directed by Robin Kvapil. Do you think the war in Ukraine is a hoax? That the media is lying about the number of dead and the consequences of the „special military operation“ in Ukraine? That was the call of director Robin Kvapil, to which sixty people questioning the Russian invasion responded. Three of them, who describe themselves as „desolates“ and supporters of Vladimir Putin, eventually went to the Donbas with a crew.
The CzechTourism agency had its stand with promotional materials in the foyer of the House of Arts during the festival. Part of the presentation was a roll-up inviting to visit the capital city and referring to Dan Brown's novel set in Prague.
Before the screening of each Czech or co-produced film with Czech participation, a promotional spot of the CzechTourism agency was screened. This spot also appeared during the closing night with the award ceremony and for films such as the aforementioned Radier to go mad in the wilderness by Miro Remo, Father by Tereza Nvotová, Caravan by Zuzana Kirchnerová, The Great Patriotic Trip by Robin Kvapil, Summer School 2001 by Duzan Duong, and also in a separate block of FAMU student films.
„A significant part of Slovak films are co-produced with Czech producers, because we share common themes, history and language proximity. No political circumstances can weaken the strong ties between our two countries. Czech and Slovak cinema are naturally linked and have been enriching each other for a long time. At Cinematik we regularly screen a number of films that have been made by the joint efforts of Czech and Slovak filmmakers. We are glad that we have been able to present them for several years now also thanks to the cooperation with CzechTourism. This cooperation allows us not only to bring quality films to the audience, but also to build cultural bridges and show how close our countries are to each other on and off the screen, said Director of the Cinematik Film Festival Tomáš Klenovský.
The 21st edition of the Cinematik IFF will take place in September 2026.
The Meeting Point Europe award went to the German drama Looking into the Sun (In die Sonne schauen) by Maschi Schilinski. Four girls – Alma, Erika, Angelika and Lenka – live out their youth on the same farm in northern Germany. As the house changes over the centuries, echoes of the past resound within its walls. Although time separates them, their lives begin to mirror each other. Directorial revelation of the decade Mascha Schilinski has made a hypnotic family saga that clearly appealed to the jury of the Cinematik IFF.
The second competition section Cinematik.doc is fishing in domestic waters – only Slovak documentary filmmakers are competing for the prizes. The winner of the Cinematik.doc Literary Fund Award is Martin Kollár for his Slovak-Czech title Letopis. The film captures everyday stories and creates a collective portrait of contemporary reality – not only as a documentation of the present, but also as an archive for the future. Through images, it reveals absurd routines and strange habits, as well as our tendency to lean on systems that we also question. Letters offers a new way of seeing our choices, and encourages viewers to reflect on their actions now. The jury of Ester Geislerová (Czech Republic), Daniela Hanusová (Slovakia) and Daniel Rihák (Slovakia) awarded the prize for „Exceptional visual sensitivity that invites us to slow down and shows how focused observation can reveal the subtle connections between the absurdities of everyday life and broader social structures.“
The Piešt'any Mayor's Award went to director Miro Remo for his Czech-Slovak documentary Radier to go mad in the wilderness. Franta and Ondra are inseparable twins, living away from civilisation in the deep embrace of nature. Their daily routine, steeped in peace and harmony with the outside world, begins to crack under the pressure of internal contradictions. Franta longs for freedom, change and adventure, while Ondra clings to the security of immutability. But their dual existence crumbles like a mirror – same appearance, different desires. The jury praised the „extraordinarily free, playful, and imaginative cinematic language, which, like a roller coaster of emotions, presents the world of twins living outside civilization in all its poetry, prose, gentle reverie, and stark rawness.“
The audience of the festival also chose their award from all the films through voting. The number of ballots cast exceeded fifteen thousand. The Audience Award of the 20th Cinematik went to the Czech-Slovak documentary The Great Patriotic Trip, directed by Robin Kvapil. Do you think the war in Ukraine is a hoax? That the media is lying about the number of dead and the consequences of the „special military operation“ in Ukraine? That was the call of director Robin Kvapil, to which sixty people questioning the Russian invasion responded. Three of them, who describe themselves as „desolates“ and supporters of Vladimir Putin, eventually went to the Donbas with a crew.
The CzechTourism agency had its stand with promotional materials in the foyer of the House of Arts during the festival. Part of the presentation was a roll-up inviting to visit the capital city and referring to Dan Brown's novel set in Prague.
Before the screening of each Czech or co-produced film with Czech participation, a promotional spot of the CzechTourism agency was screened. This spot also appeared during the closing night with the award ceremony and for films such as the aforementioned Radier to go mad in the wilderness by Miro Remo, Father by Tereza Nvotová, Caravan by Zuzana Kirchnerová, The Great Patriotic Trip by Robin Kvapil, Summer School 2001 by Duzan Duong, and also in a separate block of FAMU student films.
„A significant part of Slovak films are co-produced with Czech producers, because we share common themes, history and language proximity. No political circumstances can weaken the strong ties between our two countries. Czech and Slovak cinema are naturally linked and have been enriching each other for a long time. At Cinematik we regularly screen a number of films that have been made by the joint efforts of Czech and Slovak filmmakers. We are glad that we have been able to present them for several years now also thanks to the cooperation with CzechTourism. This cooperation allows us not only to bring quality films to the audience, but also to build cultural bridges and show how close our countries are to each other on and off the screen, said Director of the Cinematik Film Festival Tomáš Klenovský.
The 21st edition of the Cinematik IFF will take place in September 2026.