16-09-2009

Janosik opens strong in Slovakia

By Jana Kadlecova

    The opening weekend of Janosik. The True Story in Slovakia drew more than 31,000 viewers -- a huge success in Slovak distribution.

    The results are comparable with the record-setting success of Bathory (from Slovak director Juraj Jakubisko) which had almost 36,000 viewers on opening week-end. Both films are international co-production with a Slovak co-producer, internationally recognized directors (Janosik was directed by Agnieszka Holland and Kasia Adamik), deal with historical figures, explore myths and legends, star Slovak actors, and are the most expensive Slovak film projects (Janosik cost 6 million Euro, Bathory13.3 million Euro) and supported by very strong publicity campaigns.

    The Polish/Slovak/Czech/Hungarian co-production Janosik. The True Story with its 31,107 viewers took the second place in the history of Slovak film distribution. In the Czech Republic, Janosik. The True Story attracted a respectable 13,434 viewers (www.ufd.cz) and over 70,000 viewers since its opening in Poland.

    "I am very satisfied, it is more than we expected," said Denisa Biermannova from the Slovak distribution company Garfield Film (www.garfieldfilm.com). "Two facts make me happy: the number of viewers has been increasing - the majority of the viewers came on Sunday -- and the most of them are younger viewers."

    Janosik has been distributed in 21 copies (four of which are digital) in 13 Slovak cinemas in 12 cities. There were 239 screenings during the first weekend.

    Denisa Biermannova confirmed for FNE that American distributor Sony Classics has expressed the interest in distributing the film. "Talks on distribution are currently underway," she informed FNE.

    Distributor in Slovakia:

    GARFIELD FILM, Lazaretská 4, 811 08 Bratislava

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