14th Bratislava International Film Festival

The Bratislava International Film Festival is primarily focused on young filmmakers — their first and second features – but it also included a competition program of documentary and short films. The festival is held annually, and this year’s edition took place from November 9th through November 15th, , bringing also to the attention of local audiences a selection of the best films, awarded at festivals round the world.

The Bratislava International Film Festival was launched in 1999 to replace the former IFF Forum Bratislava. Its last year’s records indicate that it has become a small but favorite event with 140 films screened and seen by 18000 viewers. The Festival has a real potential to grow and its most important asset is the professionalism of its programmers, who love and understand the art of film and put together lovingly various sections and programs. Last but not least, the festival is very well organized all around.

The festival location is also worthy of mentioning. Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia, and with its close cultural relations to Hungary and Austria, contributes to the festival’s profile of a specifically Central European event, rooted in the common history of the Austro-Hungarian empire.

This year the festival featured for the first time a competition section of Slovak films, called fittingly Made in Slovakia. It is the first step towards a better promotion of the local film production, which undoubtedly gives a unique flavor to any national festival. If the festival lacked something, it was a more energetic Slovak presence in the main competition, where there was no Slovak film this year. (Viera Langerová, edited by Christina Stojanova)

Bratislava International Film Festival: www.iffbratislava.com