26-09-2016

Latvia and Slovakia Select Dawn an Eva Nová as Oscar Contenders

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    Dawn by Laila Pakalnina Dawn by Laila Pakalnina

    BRATISLAVA / RIGA: Laila Pakalniņa's Dawn / Ausma is Latvia’s entry for the Best Foreign Language Film category at the 89th Academy Awards, while Marko Škop’s debut feature Eva Nová is the Slovak contender in the same category.

    Dawn has been selected by a panel set up by the National Film Center of Latvia. The film is based on a Soviet propaganda story about a youth named Pavlik Morozov, who gave in his father to the secret police and was killed by his family.

    The film is a Latvian/Estonian/Polish coproduction between Hargla Pictures, Digital Sputnik and Staron Film with the support of the National Film Center of Latvia, Latvian Cultural Capital Foundation and the Polish Film Institute.

    Eva Nova by Marko SkopThe world premiere took place at the Black Nights Festival in Tallinn in 2015.

    Eva Nová has been selected by the Slovak Television and Film Academy as the country’s bid for the Oscars. The film tells the story of a once famous actress and recovering alcoholic, who is trying to regain the love of her son.

    The film is a Slovak/Czech coproduction between Artileria and Sirius Films (CZ), Filmpark production (SK), Rozhlas a televízia Slovenska (SK), with the support of the Slovak Audiovisual Fund, the Czech State Cinematography Fund, the MEDIA Programme, the Ministry of Culture of the Slovak Republic.

    The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2015, where it won the FIPRESCI Discovery Award.