Ars Poetica 2012

ARS POETICA 2012
X. Year of International Poetry Festival

18th – 21st October / Bratislava / KC Dunaj

poetry / films / concerts

Thursday 18th October 2012

18.00 Asseco Solutions Poems 2012 / KC Dunaj
18.00 Sister / CZ / 2008 / film / Lumière cinema
19.30 Andrea GRILL / AT / Marija IVANOVIĆ / AT / Adam PLUSZKA / PL / Julia FIEDORCZUK / PL / Thomas MÖHLMANN / NL / Donna STONECIPHER / USA / poetry evening / KC Dunaj
20.00 Pina / FR / DE / GB / 2011 / film / Lumière cinema
22.00 Riverloam trio / Trzaska / Sanders / Brice / PL / GB / concert / KC Dunaj
23.00 DJ

Friday 19th October 2012

15.00 European Poetry Forum / Round Table / KC Dunaj
18.00 Fair-Play / SK / 2012 / film / Lumière cinema
19.00 Mária FERENČUHOVÁ / SK / Katharina SCHULTENS / DE Branko ČEGEC / HR Maria ZANOLLI / IT Miroslav MIĆANOVIĆ / HR Martina HEFTER / DE Leevi LEHTO / FIN / poetry evening / KC Dunaj
20.00 Strom života / USA / 2011 / film / Lumière cinema
22.00 Davaï / RU / FR / concert / KC Dunaj
23.00 DJ

Saturday 20th October 2012

16.00 Best of Anča 2012 / selection of award-winning animated films from this year's festival / Lumière cinema
18.00 Zvonky šťastia / Bells of Joy / SK / 2012 / film / Lumière cinema
19.00 Michal ŠANDA / CZ / Gwenaëlle STUBBE / FR Luigi NACCI / IT Julieta VALERO / ESP Haydar ERGÜLEN / TUR Henriika TAVI / FIN Zuzana HUSÁROVÁ, Ľubomír PANÁK / SK / poetry evening / KC Dunaj
20.00 Faust / RU / film / Lumière cinema
21.00 Saténové ruky / Satin hands / SK / concert / KC Dunaj
23.00 DJ

Sunday 21st October 2012

16.00 The Sound of Rio: Brasileirinho /BR / FIN / CH / 2005 / film / Lumière cinema
18.00 Hamlet Goes Business / FIN / 1987 / film / Lumière cinema
20.00 Banksy - Exit Through the Gift Shop / USA / GB / 2010 / film / Lumière cinema
15th — 31st October 2012

po-štv
10–13.30
14–16 Maria Zanolli & Laura Veronesi: After Words / IT / Exhibition / Taliansky kultúrny inštitút
Poetry reading Lucia Hurajová & Marek Majeský

VJ Zden Hlinka

Poetry evenings presented by Martin Solotruk

Branko Čegec (HR) was born in Kraljev Vrh in Croatia. He holds a degree from East Slavic languages, literature and literary comparatistics, which he earned in Zagreb. He worked as a literary editor in youth newspapers and journals Polet and Pitanja. He became the editor-in-chief of the journal Quorum,then the editor-in-chief of the cultural biweeklyOkoand an editor in the publishing house Mladost. In 1992 he founded his own publishing house Meandar. In 1998 he initiated the founding of Croatian Independent Publishers, economic association of small and medium-sized publishing houses. At the same time he was elected the president of the Board of the Association where he stayed until 2000 when, called on by the minister of culture, he became his assistant in the Department for Cultural Development and Creativity. In 1999 he was elected the president of the Board of Goranovo proljeće, the largest Croatian poetry event. In 2002 he founded The Croatian Book Centreand in 2003 the magazine Tema,where he works as its director and editor-in-chief respectively. He is the author of several collections of poetry likeEros-Europa-Arafat (1980, Goran for Young Poets Prize), Zapadno-istočni spol(West-eastern Sex, 1983), Melankolični ljetopis(Melancholic chronicle, 1988), Ekrani praznine(Screens of Emptiness, 1992), Nitko ne govori hrvatski / Personne ne parle croate (with Miroslav Mićanović and Ivic Prtenjač, 2002), Sintaksa mesečine (2004), Tamno mjesto(Dark place, 2005, Kočićevo pero Prize). He is the co-author of Tri krokodila(Three Crocodiles, 2005). In 2011 he published a collection of poetry Zapisi iz pustog jezika (Notes from a Waste Language) and in 2012 Pun mjesec u Istanbulu (Full Moon in Istanbul), which was translated into French. For his overall contribution to Croatian poetry he was awarded the Prize of St. Kvirin in 2008 at Kvirin meetings. He worked at several international poetry festivals such as Stružské večery poézie, Sarajevské dni poézie, Vilenici, Translokal (Graz), Marche de la poesie (Paris, Bordeaux, Marseille), Poesie nuit (Lyon) or SiDaJa (Terst).

Haydar Ergülen (TR) was born in Eskişehir, Turkey. He studied sociology at ODTU. Although he has retired from copywriting, he teaches at universities. His lectures include: The Life of the Poet and Turkish Poetry. He has published 13 books of poetry, 2 collected books of poetry, 5 books of essays, one neighborhood monograph (Cihangir), and one book on cinema. His poems have been published in international anthologies. Additionally, he has participated in numerous poetry festivals and activities both in Turkey and abroad. He has won 7 poetry prizes. He is the director of the Eskişehir International Poetry Festival. He has written columns for newspapers Radikal and Birgün. Currently, he works as a columnist for Cumhuriyet. Hehas a daughter, Nar.

Mária Ferenčuhová (SK) was born in Bratislava. Since 2003 she has worked as a lecturer and researcher of film history and theory at the Film and Television Faculty of Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava, Slovakia. From 2004 to 2007 she held the post of the Vice-rector for international cooperation, research and public relations and from 2010 to 2012 she was the Vice-Dean for foreign affairs. She translates from French (Paul Virilio, Philippe Brenot, Jean Echenoz, Amélie Nothomb, Philippe Sollers, Samuel Beckett, etc.). She is the author of two books of poetry - Skryté titulky (Hidden Subtitles, Bratislava, 2003), Princíp neistoty (Principle of Uncertainty, Bratislava, 2008), and a scholarly monograph on documentary film - Odložený čas (Delayed Time, Bratislava, 2009).

Julia Fiedorczuk (PL) is a poet, translator, and lecturer in American literature at Warsaw University, Poland. She has published four volumes of poetry, the most recent of which is Tlen (2009). Her first collection, Listopad nad Narwią, received an award for the best first book of the year (2003). She is also a recipient of the 2005 Hubert Burda Preis. Her poems have appeared in anthologies in Great Britain, United States, Slovenia, and Sweden. Her translations include English and American poetry, prose, and criticism by Wallace Stevens, Laura Riding, John Ashbery, and Yusef Komunyakaa. She is also the author of a collection of short stories, Poranek Marii i inne opowiadania (2010), and the novel Biała Ofelia (2011).

Andrea Grill (A) was born in Bad Ischl, Austria. She studied in Salzburg and Thessaloniki and graduated from University of Amsterdam with a thesis on The Evolution of Endemic Butterflies in Sardinia. She writes novels, short stories and poems and works as a researcher and translator from Albanian. Her work frequently appears in various newspapers and magazines (e.g. NZZ, Der Standard, Die Presse, Literatur und Kritik, Manuskripte). She has won several prizes. In 2011 she was awarded Bremer Literaturpreis for her novel Das Schöne und das Notwendige.In past she lived in Tirana, Cagliari (Sardinia), Neuchatel, Bologna and New York. She now lives in Vienna. She is the author of several novels, e.g. Der gelbe Onkel. Ein Familienalbum (2005), Zweischritt(2007),Tränenlachen (2008), collections of short stories such as Liebesmachine NYC. Storys(2012) and poems (Happy Bastards, 2011).

Martina Hefter (D) is a writer and performance artist. She was born in Pfroten/Allgau and lives with her family in Leipzig. In 1991 she finished her studies at Kleine Nestler Schule in Munich where she studied dance and gymnastics. Later she studied stage dancing at Etage in Berlin. In 1997 – 2003 she worked at German Literary Institute in Leipzig where she also held several lectures as a guest teacher. In the centre of her literary attention lies poetry, which she uses as a tool to come to terms with motion through language and language through dance. Besides writing, she works on performative projects bridging poetics and movement. She is the initiator and an active participant in the project “Bewegungsschreiber”, linking poetics with dance. The project is scheduled for December this year. Her recent publications include Die Küsten der Berge (The Coasts of Mountains, 2008), Nach der Diskotheken (After Discoteques, 2010), essays and poems in magazines and anthologies, e.g. Die Hören or Edit. She is the recipient of several awards, such as the Meran Poetry Prize (2008) or London Scholarship of the German Literary Fund (2006).

Zuzana Husárová (SK) is interested in innovations in literature and media. She holds a PhD. in literary studies and teaches mostly American literature in Bratislava at Comenius University and electronic literature at Masaryk University in Brno. She was a Fulbright scholar at MIT, Cambridge in 2011. Within a Slovak grant on electronic literature research, she co-edited with Bogumiła Suwara a publication V sieti strednej Európy:(In the Central European Net:).She is the author of experimental literature across various media. In collaboration with Ľubomír Panák she has created several interactive literary pieces. She collaborates with Amalia Roxana Filip on a transmedia project liminal(book on visual poetry and multimedia). Her theoretical and creative works have appeared in American journals (Drunken Boat, BathHouse Hypermedia Journal, Yes, Poetry, SpringGun, EBR) in Europe and Korea.

Marija Ivanović (AT) was born in Calw, Germany. She studied sculpting in Berlin. After leaving art school she volunteered with wildlife conservation projects in Croatia. She is currently enrolled in the graduate program in conference interpreting at University of Vienna. Since 2010 her poetry and prose have been published in magazines Manuskripte and Literatur und Kritik.

Leevi Lehto (FIN) is a Finnish poet, translator, publisher, programmer, performer, and self-taught composer. Since 1967 he has published six volumes of poetry, a novel, an experimental prose work, and a collection of essays. Active in left politics during the seventies, he worked as a corporate communications executive during the nineties. He is also known for his experiments in digital writing, such as the Google Poem Generator. Lehto’s translations, some forty books in all, range from mysteries to philosophy, sociology, and poetry. His new Finnish translation of James Joyce’s Ulysses was published by the Helsinki University Press in June 2012. Since 2007 Lehto has run a press of his own, ntamo, through which he has published more than 150 books, most of them critically acclaimed experimental poetry. Lehto also performs his own poetry and that of the others’ internationally. Notably, he has versioned the works of Finnish writers from the so-called “traditional” period. The Finnish critic Aleksis Salusjärvi describes Lehto’s performances as “foregrounding an atavistic, affective voice roaring almost deafeningly … as if performance and voice themselves were the subject matter.” Lately, Lehto has started performing together with musicians, such as folk harpist Salla Hakkola and drummer Tero Valkonen.

Miroslav Mićanović (HR) is a poet, short story writer, critic and essayist. He studied at the Faculty of Arts in Zagreb. He is a co-author of several anthologies of poetry: in collaboration with Hrvoj Pejaković he compiled anthology of contemporary Croatian poetry Les jeunes Croates (1989), with Branko Čegec he put together an selection of Croatian poetry of the 80s and 90s Strast razlike, tamni zvuk praznine (Passion for Differences, Dark Tone of Emptiness, 1995) or anthology of Young Croatian Poetrywith R. Simić (2000). He took part in the project Posao dvanaestorice, romani u nestajanju (Matter of the Twelve, Disappearing Novels, 1998) with his text Man Who Brought Bread to His Family. As a single graphical letter he published his poem Jobin a multilingual edition translated into German by Dražen Karaman and illustrated by M. Vejzović. In 2001 – 2003 he contributed to Saturday cultural supplement of newspaper Jutarnji listwith his column One-way Street, in 2005 – 2006 he wrote critical texts about the contemporary production of poetry, which appeared in the magazine Vjesnik.In 1998 he was awarded Duhovno hrašće Prize for his collection of poetry Ziband in 2004 he won Fran Galović Prize for his collection of short stories Trajekt.He is the author of anthology of contemporary Croatian poetry Utjeha haosa (Consolation of Chaos, 2006). He is a long-time editor of the magazine Quorum and editions of the publishing company Naklada MD. Currently he works at the Agency for Education. His other publications include Grad dobrih ljudi (Town of Good People, 1984, electronic edition 2005); Zid i fotografie kraja (Wall and Pictures of the End, 1989); More i prašina(Sea and Dust, 1991); Nitko ne govori hrvatski / Personne ne parle croate(co-authored with B. Čegec and I. Prtenjač, 2002, 2003); Tri krokodila (co-authored with B. Čegec and S. Karuz, 2005); Zapadni kolodvor(Western Border, 2006) or Dani (Days, 2011).

Thomas Möhlmann (NL) lives in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, where he works for The Dutch Foundation for Literature. He has edited a selection of Nijhoff's poetry, published by Prometheus in 2008. Two collections of his poems have also appeared from the same publisher. He is also chief editor of the Dutch poetry magazine Awater (www.poezieclub.nl) and editor of the literary websites www.literairnederland.nl and www.lyrikline.org, the poetry show series Vadem and several poetry anthologies. His first collection of poems, De vloeibare jongen (The Liquid Boy, 2005) was shortlisted for the C. Buddingh' Prize for new Dutch language poetry in 2006 and was awarded the Lucy B. & C.W. van der Hoogt Prize in 2007.

Luigi Nacci (I) is an Italian poet, writer and performer. He lives in Trieste. His is the author of several works: Il poema marino di Eszter (2005), poema disumano (2006, with a CD), Inter nos/SS (Modena 2007), Madrigale OdeSSa (2008), odeSS (in Decimo quaderno italiano di poesia contemporanea, 2010). In the last few years he has taken part in numerous national and international readings and literature festivals. He works for various newspapers and magazines as well as web sites and organizes cultural events. He is currently co-directing Viandanza Festival in Tuscany.

Adam Pluszka (PL) is a poet, author, film and literary critic. He has published several collections of poetry (z prawa z lewa, Zwroty, Trip, French love) as well as prose (Łapu Capu, Flauta). In 2003 he was nominated for the Paszport Polityki Prize. He lives in Warsaw.

Katharina Schultens (D) studied literature and cultural studies in Hildesheim, Bologna and St. Louis. She has been working in research administration at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin since 2006. Her poetry and some essays have been published in literature magazines and anthologies since 1998. Aufbrüche, her first collection of poems, was published in 2004 by Rhein-Mosel-Verlag; her second collection gierstabil appeared in 2011 via luxbooks/Christian Lux Verlag, where also her third collection hysteresis is scheduled to appear in 2013/2014. She has worked on projects for poesiefestival Berlin in 2011 and 2012, among them the collaborative European poetry project renshi.eu, and has received several awards for her work, most recently the Förderpreis zum Kunstpreis des Landes Rheinland-Pfalz.

Donna Stonecipher (USA) is the author of three books: The Reservoir (winner of the Contemporary Poetry Series competition, 2002); Souvenir de Constantinople (2007); andThe Cosmopolitan (winner of the National Poetry Series, 2008). Her poems have been published in many journals, including New American Writing, Conjunctions, Denver Quarterly, Coconut, and The Canary; and have been translated into French, German, Spanish, and Czech. She translates from French and German, and her translation of the Swiss author Ludwig Hohl’s novella Ascent will be published in 2012. She lives in Berlin.

Gwenaëlle Stubbe (F) was born in Brussels and now lives and works in France. Recently she published books Ma tante Sidonie (My Aunt Sidonia, 2010), Salut, Salut Marxus (Hello, hello, Marxus, 2006). Earlier she published a book called Le héros et sa créature (Hero and his Creature) and Un serpent de fumée (Smoke Snake). With Laurence Vielle she co-authered a play called L'incroyable histoire du grand Gelbe (Unbelievable Story of the Great Gelbe). She reads and holds lectures in France and abroad in French and Dutch (in Mexico, Morocco, Algeria, Sweden, Norway, Germany etc.). She holds the Amic Prize from the French Academy. Her books have been translated into Norwegian (Min tante Sidonie, trans. T. Lundbo, Oslo 2008) and into Dutch (Oorlogepisode, trans. P. Joostens, Gand 2008. Tja. Slibreeks, 2010). Currently she studies sociology of contemporary poetry at École des Hautes Études. Her book My Aunt Sidoniawas adapted for radio (France culture, ACR, June 2009. War episode, France Culture, Oct. 2009. Available online, ZOO, Arte radio.com 2008).

Michal Šanda (CZ) was born in Prague. He graduated from Grammar school of Jan Neruda in Malá Strana. He later changed professions. He currently works as an archivist at the Arts and Theatre Institute in Prague. The bibliographical department of the National library ascribes him the authorship of numerous books: sto a(hundred and, 1994), Ošklivé příběhy z krásných slov (Ugly Stories from Pretty Words, 1996), Dvacet deka ovaru (Twenty Dekagrams of Cooked Pig’s Head, 1998), Metro (1998 and 2005), Blues 1890 – 1940 (2000), Sudamerická romance (Southamerican Romance, 2003), Merekvice (2008),Remington pod kredencí (Remington under Cupboard, 2009), Dopisy (Letters, 2009) in collaboration with Karel Havlíček Borovský etc. He has penned several plays: Španělské ptáčky(Spanish Birds, 2006), Blues o Robertu Boyerovi (Blues about Robert Boyer, 2011), orSorento (2011).

Henriikka Tavi (FIN) born in Vehkalahti, Sourthern Finland, lives and works in Helsinki. She studied philosophy and comparative literature at University of Helsinki, from which she graduated in 2003. Since 2011 she has been a doctoral student at Jyväskylä University, doing her degree in creative writing. Her first book of poetry Esim. Esa (2007) won the Helsingin Sanomat Literature Prize for the best debut of the year. Since then she has published several other books: Sanakirja (Dictionary, 2010), Toivo (Hope, 2011) and a work entitled In large well-organized termite colonies in collaboration with Mikael Brygger and the artistic group IC-98. Toivo won two Finnish literary prizes: Kalevi Jäntti Prize for a promising young writer and Tanssiva Karhu, prize for the best poetry book of the year. She has translated several children books as well as Schiller’s essays. Since 2006 she has been working as an editor of the poetry magazine Tuli&Savu. She is an active member of the publishing cooperative Poesia, founded in 2011 by 15 Finnish poets. This year (2012) she has been busy with the project “12”. It is a conceptually defined writing performance which takes as its starting point the question: How many poetry books should an average poet write a year to be able to make a living out of the copyright incomes? According to Tavi’s calculations, it should be at least 12 books. Therefore, she is spending the year 2012 trying to write a book each month, each book being named after the month in which it was written. On Sept. 1 she was able to publish the books January,February, March, April, June and July.

Julieta Valero (E) was born in Madrid. She studied Hispanic philology at Complutense University. Her extensive work includes titles such as Ínsula (Islans), ABC de las letras (The Alphabet of Letters), Turia, Vulcane, Minerva, Diario de poesía (Diary of Poetry) etc. She participated in the compilation of several anthologies: Inéditos (Unpublished), 11 poetas (11 poets, 2002), 33 de Radio 3 (33 of radio 3, 2003), 11-M. Poemas contra el olvido (March 11. Poems Against Forgetting, 2004), Poesía pasión (Poetry Passion, 2005), Deshabitados (Uninhabited, 2008), Palabras sobre palabra: 13 poetas españoles jóvenes (Words about a Word: 13 Young Spanish Poets, Chile, 2009), El poder del cuerpo. Antología femenina contemporánea (The Body Power. Contemporary Female Anthology, 2009) or Contrabando: una antología de la poesía española actual (Contraband: Anthology of Contemporary Spanish Poetry, Argentine, 2011). She is the author of many collections of poetry: Los Heridos Graves (Severely Wounded, Barcelona, DVD, 2005) or Autoría (Authorship, Barcelona, DVD, 2010, won the Prize for Poetry Cáceres, the Cultural Heritage Prize, Prize of Ausiás March 2010, shortlisted for one of the top 10 books of the year of the magazine Quimera and one of the top 10 titles of 2010 of magazines Babelia and El Cultural). For five years she co-directed and presented the radio show “A ras de verso” (Close to the Verse) on Radio Círculo del Círculo de BB AA in Madrid. At present she is a member of the teaching staff of the school of creative writing Hotel Kafka. She works as an editor and since 2008 as a coordinator of the Foundation of José Hierra’s Poetry Centre (Fundación Centro de Poesía José Hierro).

Maria Zanolli (I) is a freelance journalist. She writes for Corriere della Sera (issue for Brescia) and manages the column amABILmente dedicated to the physically disabled. She collaborates with national periodicals. She has participated in the organization of some new publication projects. In 2006 she published a poetry collection Two. In 2007 she was awarded the prize for poetry Lionello Fiumi di Roverchiara.is her most recent book written in collaboration with Laura Veronesi.

Concerts

RIVERLOAM TRIO / PL
TRZASKA/SANDERS/BRICE

Mikołaj Trzaska – saxofón, basový klarinet (Poľsko)
Olie Brice – dvojitá basa (Izrael, Veľká Británia)
Mark Sanders – bicie (Veľká Británia)

The Riverloam Trio are Mikolaj Trzaska (alto sax, bass clarinet), Olie Brice (double bass) and Mark Sanders (drums). This trio has been working together for a couple of years, touring Europe and performing at festivals including Kerava Jazz and Jazz Od Nowa. They have an LP due out in November on NoBusiness Records. Polish saxophonist Mikolaj Trzaska has steadily established a position as the leading saxophonist in free improvisation area in Poland. This has been noticed also outside Poland and nowadays Trzaska co-operates regularly with the leading masters of the area like Joe McPhee, Ken Wandermark and Peter Brötzmann. One of the most interesting collaborations is the group Magic in which Trzaska performs with Trio X, which had a powerful gig in Kerava last year. The drummer Mark Sanders has been an active player in the British free improvising scene since early nineties. Collaboration projects include such well-known artists as Evan Parker, Derek Bailey and John Butcher. International musician mates include for example Wadada Leo Smith and Charles Gayle. The bassist Olie Brice belongs to a slightly younger jazz generation. He is interested also in kletzmer and Balkan music. He's been co-operating for example with Paul Dunmall and Louis Moholo-Moholo.

Saténové Ruky

Saténové Ruky (Satin Hands) call themselves the wrong answer to the Britpop, but the right answer to the Slovak pop and Czech underground. While their concert-goers place their music somewhere between Lasica, Satinský and Joy Division, the band with its post-chanson lo-fi sound identifies itself with bands such as Nový Svět or Шихта. The band consists of poet Vlado Janček, Braňo Bezák, Kasko, Patrik Nagy and Toni Granko.

What others said about Satin Hands:
"Gripping..."
Hidzo (Kosa z Nosa)

"I'm afraid the album will be too tidy."
Biba_FM

"There is Pixies, there is Kosa z Nosa, there is Mary Chain."
Tibor Holoda (W:lson:c)

"You're the best rock'n'roll band in Bratislava."
Roman Harvan (Slovak Philharmonic)

Davaï / RUS / FR

Davaï, a French-Russian octet, is a vigorous combination of rock and chanson. An impetuous marriage between Slavic tragedy and Gypsy passion, the band plays an array of instruments: guitars, violin, ac- cordion, drums and percussions. And not to forget Svetlana's voice, which joyfully reverberates in large spaces.

Films

Sister

Sister / directed by: Vít Pancíř / Czech Republic / 2008 / 70 min.

The movie is based on Jáchym Topola's book and accompanied by music of Czech band Psí vojáci. The protagonist is an artist in his mid-thirties working in a small theatre company. He looks at the world around him with contempt, but his life changes fundamentally, when he meets Černá. The lovers run away from the city. The story is immersed in dark romance focusing on the timeless internal conflicts of the protagonist. Vít Pancíř, experimental filmmaker, animator and creator of music videos of the cult Czech band Psí vojáci and Jáchym Topola, author of the script and music score, had each other's absolute trust during the shooting of the film. Pancíř chose only poems and four dreams from the book and replaced the exultation of the original with civil images.

Pina / FR / DE / GB

Pina / directed by Wim Wenders / France / Germany / Great Britain / 2011 / 100 min.

The latest film of Wim Wenders Pina is the first European 3D feature film ever. Wenders shot the picture as a tribute to German choreograph Pina Bausch who had a profound influence on the dance and theatre of the last third of 20th century. The film was to be a collaborative project of both Wenders and Bausch, but because of her sudden death it was shot "in memoriam" depicting her key works and memories of her closest colleagues. The film is an impressive journey into the world of emotions and soul portrayed through body (at Ars Poetica screened as 2D).

Fair-Play / SK

Fair-Play / directed by Arnold Kojnok / Slovakia / 2012 / 52 min.

The documentary Fair-Play records the development of work of an academic painter Július Koller (1939 – 2007) in relation to the contemporary thinking. The author's aim is to grasp the reality of Július Koller without excessive pathos and thus delineate the work and thinking of this conceptual artist in broader context. Particular emphasis is put on the depiction of circumstances, in which the painter was forced to work, i.e. live in a society and reflect it as a whole. The extent and importance of J. Koller's legacy, of an artist whose name surpasses the central-European dimension, is at several places in distinct contrast to the world, in which he lived.

The Tree of Life / USA

The Tree of Life / directed by: Terrence Malick / USA / 2011 / 139 min.

A monumental epic movie by Terrence Malick about the search for the meaning of life between two banks of reason and love and emotions and a stony face. Brad Pitt in the role of little Jack's father is try- ing hard to bring him up as a man prepared for any life situation. He wants him to become a victor who will never succumb to anybody or anything and who will walk firmly towards his goals. When Jack grows up (Sean Penn), he is conscious of his mother's influence – motherly protection, childish lightheartedness and lightness of soul and one's being. Only the first-hand experience of bitter trials of fate make him realize that both reason and emotions have their place in one's life and can co-exist in harmony.

Faust / RU

Faust / directed by: Alexander Sokurov / Russia / 2011 / 134 min.

Unrequited love and endless passion. This film will take you on a thrilling journey through time full of both poetic and harsh images. Sokurov's strange film urgently exposes human weaknesses and faults and re- discovers Faust as a deeply human story. Remarkable performances of Johannes Zeiler, Hanna Schygulla and Anton Adasinjsky (frontman of theatre group DEREVO). Radical reinterpretation of Goethe's story, myth of selling one's soul to the devil. Faust is a thinker and a rebel, and at the same time an anonymous man, whose actions are steered by inner impulses of greed and avarice.

Best of Fest Anča 2012

Best of Fest Anča 2012 / selection of award-winning films from 5th International Festival of Animated Films Fest Anča 2012 / 60 min.

The award-winning films were chosen by an international jury. The main prize, Anča Award was awarded to Polish animated film by Marta Majek, Snová šnúra (Dreamline / Snępowina). Honorable mentions were given to the following films: Oh Willy (dir. Emma De Swaef and Mrc James Roels) from Belgium and Suur maja (Great House, dir. Kristjan Holm) from Estonia. For the first time Anča Student Award was awarded to French film About Various Sorts of Paper (De riz ou d'Armenie, dir. Samy Barras, Romain Blondelle, Hélène Marchal and Céline Seillé). Honourable mention was given to Swiss film BAKA!! directed by Immanuel Wagner and Anča Music Video Award for the best movie video was awarded to film Kôpka (Mound) directed by Allison Schulnik from the USA.

Bells of Joy / SK

Bells of Joy / directed by: Marek Šulík, Jana Bučková / Slovakia / 2012 / 75 min.

Mariena and Roman are cousins. Despite having their own families, children and every-day lives, in their village Mariena is known as Karel and Roman as Darinka. They share a common passion, which has but little to do with their every-day lives – an admiration for celebrity singers Karel Gott and Dara Rolins. One day they decide to sing for them their favorite hit Zvonky šťastia (Bells of Joy), which they will send them on a DVD along with their own music video. The entire project is recorded by documentarists Marek Šulík and Jana Bučka. A strange game ensues culminating in a reversal of roles between the protagonists anf filmmakers, celebrities and humble denizens of lower classes.

The Sound of Rio: Brasileirinho / BR / FIN / CH

Rhythms of Brazil (Brasileirinho – Grandes Encontros do Choro) / directed by: Mika Kaurismäki / Brazil / Finland / Switzerland / 2005 / 90 min.

Documentary about the history and extraordinary vitality of one of the most original Brazilian music styles – choro. Choro emerged 130 years ago as the first truly Brazilian instrumental music, which has since turned into a fascinating form of modern tropical music, connecting elements of European and African rhythms. Until the 20's choro was a leading musical style of Brazil and gradually developed into samba and bossa nova. After a few years' pause in 1990 choro celebrated a great comeback. Even after the appearance of tango, salsa, samba and flamenco it remains the last authentic internationally recognized Latin-American music style.

Hamlet Goes Business / FIN

Hamlet Goes Business (Hamlet liikemaailmasa) / directed by: Aki Kaurismäki / Finland / 1987 / 86 min.

The name of the movie suggests how much Aki Kaurismäki dared divert from Shakespeare's original. He transports the timeless work of world drama into contemporary Finland and searches for parallels with extraordinary ingenuity. His Hamlet is an inheritor of a substantial share in a business managed by his uncle Klaus. He writes under-average poems and anxiously watches his weight. As in the original everything and everybody is shrouded in great dark family mystery. With his excellent skills of a director, Kaurismäki proves that it is indeed impossible to find absolute answers and definite solutions, where even words do not suffice.

Banksy – Exit Through the Gift Shop / USA

Banksy – Exit Through the Gift Shop / directed by: Banksy / USA / Great Britain / 2010 / 86 min.

Legendary British streetartist and graffiti writer Banksy who despite the Oscar nomination still has not revealed his identity, made a provocative mystifying documentary about the world of street art. Tony Guetta, eccentric French shop-keeper owns hundreds of hours of footage from street art events, but his search for the mysterious Banksy is unsuccessful. Following Banksy's example he decides to become the cult artist himself. Under the pseudonym Mister Brainwash (MBW) he generates one artifact after another... An entertaining and exciting documentary depicting the cult of street art and an ironic satire exposing how street art has turned into snobbery.