09-12-2010

Slovaks Anticipate Identity Card

By FNE Staff

    While Slovakia saw a drop off in national film production as it changed over to a new funding system last year, at least one Slovak backed film is widely anticipated prior to its release early in 2011: Ondrej Trojan's Identity Card.

    Trojan spent most of the past two decades as a producer, but established his international reputation with his 2003 directing comeback Zelary which received an Oscar nomination for best foreign language film.

    Identity Card has already made a strong showing in the Czech Republic, with some 250,000 admissions since its October 2010 release. The Slovak premiere is set for 10 February 2011.

    The film is likely to resonate with Slovak audiences as well. Set in the 1970's, an era of strong Communist domination in Czechoslovakia, the "bittersweet comedy" tells the story of four teenage boys balancing teen rebellion and the state required "identity card." long haired rock 'n' roll and an era of imposed conformity. The script was written by long-time collaborator Petr Jarchovský, who was responsible for most of the Jan Hřebejk films that Trojan's company Total HelpArt T.H.A. (www.tha.cz) produced.

    The film was coproduced by Czech TV (www.ceskatelevize.cz), with the collaboration of HBO (www.hbo.cz), and received funding from the Slovak Ministry of Culture (www.culture.gov.sk), the MEDIA programme (ec.europa.eu/media), and the Czech Fund for Cinematography.