The film Father, directed by Slovak filmmaker Tereza Nvotová, has been selected for the program of the world’s oldest film festival. Nvotová’s previous works premiered at prestigious festivals such as Locarno IFF (Nightsiren), Rotterdam IFF (Filthy), and Ji.hlava IDFF (The Lust for Power).
The psychological drama Father, a Slovak-Czech-Polish co-production (SK prod: Danae Production), will have its world premiere in the Orizzonti competition on the island of Lido. Over the past five years, Slovak films have regularly appeared in this section – last year with Peter Kerekes’ documentary comedy Wishing on a Star, the year before with the Hungarian-Slovak co-production Explanation for Everything (dir. Gábor Reisz), in 2022 with the drama Victim (dir. Michal Blaško), and in 2021 with Kerekes’ 107 Mothers.
In addition, within the Breakthrough Talent Showcase! Sam Spiegel International Film Lab – part of the Venice Production Bridge market (August 28 – September 3, 2025) – the drama Soft Hours, directed by Anna Gyimesi, will be presented. The Slovak side of the project, currently in development, is represented by producer Barbara Janišová Feglová. Their joint presentation to an expert jury will be the culmination of several months of development under the guidance of experienced script editors.
Director: Tereza Nvotová
Production: Danae Production (SK), moloko film (CZ), Lava Films (PL)
Slovak producers: Veronika Paštéková, Anton Škreko
Screenings:
August 27 | 19.00 | Sala Casinò (Press & Industry)
August 27 | 21.30 | Sala Volpi (Press & Industry)
August 28 | 14.15 | Sala Darsena (premiere + Q&A)
August 29 | 16.30 | Sala Astra 2
August 29 | 16.45 | Sala Astra 1
A tragic mistake shatters the life of a devoted father, shaking his marriage and isolating him in guilt. As the threat of prison looms, he begins to question whether he deserves to go on living. But when he and his wife come to see that the tragedy was not a personal failure, but something rooted deep in the architecture of the human mind, a fragile path toward forgiveness begins to emerge. Even with this understanding, the question remains: can love survive what no heart was built to endure?
Director: Anna Gyimesi
Production: HITCHHIKER Cinema (SK)
Slovak producer: Barbara Janišová Feglová
Presentation:
September 2 | 09:00 – 11:00 | Hotel Excelsion, Spazio Incontri
Soft Hours is a psychological drama about Ilona, a woman in her late fifties whose son went missing during a trip to Slovakia. Crushed by grief, she hires Leon, a young sex worker, to impersonate him. A strange bond forms between them, but it cannot fulfill their longing. Ilona is eventually forced to face her guilt and accept the loss. Only then can she begin to grieve.
