BRATISLAVA: The young talented Slovak filmmaker Tereza Nvotová will go into production with her second fiction feature film The Nigthsiren / Svetlonoc. This Slovak/Czech/French coproduction drama received Eurimages coproduction support, announced on 6 July 2020, and a Eurimages Development Award in 2018.

BRATISLAVA: The fairytale O liečivej vode (The World of Water) directed by Ján Sebechlebský is one of the first films to be shot in Slovakia after the easing of COVID-19 restrictions. The Slovak/Czech coproduction is planned to be released on RTVS on Christmas Eve 2020.

BRATISLAVA: Igor Luther, the world-renowned cinematographer of the Oscar-winning film The Tin Drum, died at age 77. He worked with a number of important directors, including Juraj Jakubisko, Vojtěch Jasný, Alain Robbe-Grillet, Helmut Förnbacher, Michael Verhoeven, Ulrich Schamoni, Andrzej Wajda, Volker Schlöndorff, Michael Haneke, and Bernhard Wicki.

BRATISLAVA: Václav Kadrnka is moving into postproduction with the Czech/Slovak coproduction Saving One Who Was Dead / Správa o záchrane mŕtveho. The film received a grant from Eurimages in its latest allocation of funding.

BRATISLAVA: The sales company Pluto Film has picked up the feature debut of Slovak filmmaker Martina Saková, Summer Rebels / Letní rebeli. The Slovak/German coproduction for children had been selected for the main competitions of several world festivals before the coronavirus crisis started.

BRATISLAVA: Patrik Pašš is developing a documentary series under the working title 100 Days That Changed the World / 100 dní, ktoré zmenili svet through his company TRIGON PRODUCTION. The project will reflect the current, extremely challenging social situation caused by the Covid-19 pandemic affecting not only Slovakia but the whole world.

BRATISLAVA: Slovakia will reopen cinemas and theatres on 20 May 2020, as COVID-19 restrictions are being significantly relaxed due to the continuing favourable data on the epidemic.

BRATISLAVA: The Slovak Audiovisual Producers Association will distribute 150,000 EUR to filmmakers through a programme called SAPAID.

BRATISLAVA: Production continues on Of Unwanted Things and People / O nepotrebných veciach a ľuďoch, an animated feature directed by David Súkup, Ivana Laučíková, Leon Vidmar and Jean-Claude Rozec, the recent winner of the French National Festival of Animation.

BRATISLAVA: Film incentives and online screenings are the newest measures taken by the Slovak film industry in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis. The Slovak Film Commision is highlighting the country’s impressively low rate of COVID-19 infections and calling on film professionals to register for the 33% cash rebate now available, rather than wait for the re-opening of the borders. Slovakia increased its cash rebate as of 1 January 2020, up from the previous 20%. In another move, the Slovak distributor Filmtopia has begun online distribution.