Exhibits or Stories from the Castle
Documentary Films - Competition 2013 / Exponáty alebo Príbehy z kaštieľa / Slovak Republic 2013
From the loosely interwoven life stories of clients at an old people’s home in the Slovak town of Stupava, documentarist Pavol Korec pieces together a cheerful, light-hearted and, at the same time, highly compelling and varied mosaic portraying the fate of people "who have lost everything; all they have left is life.”
Synopsis
Time passes at its own gentle pace at a castle and its grounds located in the Slovak town of Stupava. Occasionally an athletic old guy whizzes past in his wheelchair; his determination and life creed – "anything’s possible if you apply yourself” – are cleverly articulated via the sound of racing cars. We see another wheelchair, whose elderly occupant was imprisoned for 15 years for shooting a policeman. The local old people’s home also provides refuge to a curious philosopher and inventor with a fondness for neologisms, a lawyer known as The Classic, the taciturn Liduška, who collects pigeons’ feathers, and Major František who’s always at the bottle. Loosely interweaving his characters’ life stories, Slovak documentarist Pavol Korec pieces together a colourful mosaic portraying the fate of people "who have lost everything; all they have left is life.” This subtle, light-hearted and, at the same time, highly compelling portrait of the "live exhibits” at the castle will strike a chord with viewers, also for its evocative atmosphere and superb scripting.
About the film
70 min / Color, DCP
International premiere
Director Pavol Korec
/ Screenplay Pavol Korec, Jozef Kulačik
/ Dir. of Photography Ján Meliš
/ Music Ľubica Malachovská Čekovská
/ Editor Michal Kondrla
/ Producer Zuzana Balkóová, Judita Gembická
/ Production Formats Pro Media s.r.o.
/ Contact Formats Pro Media s.r.o.
About the director
Pavol Korec (b. 1958, Partizánske, Czechoslovakia) began his film career as an assistant cameraman for STV Bratislava. After completing his studies at Comenius University’s Humanities Faculty in Bratislava (1982) he worked as an assistant director and producer for SFT Koliba. This was followed by a course in film and TV directing at the Academy of Performing Arts (1988-93). He had a short-term attachment at La Fémis in Paris in 1991–92. He is currently a free-lance director. Selected filmography – features: Morning (Ráno, 1993), Fake Hitchhiking (Falošný autostop, 1993), Trip to Paradise (Cesta do raja, 1994), Sunstroke (Úpal, 1995), Constellation of the Sword (Súhvezdie meča, 1995), Under the Surface (Pod hladinou, 2001). Documentaries: Workshop (Dielňa, 1994), Great Fortune (Veľké šťastie, 1996), Hero (Hrdina, 1997), Propeller (1999), This Is the Track (To ta trať, 2003), Decalogue 2010 (Desatoro 2010, 2009), Stalin’s Candles above Prešov (Stalinove sviečky nad Prešovem, 2011).
Contacts
Formats Pro Media s.r.o.
Saratovská 15, 841 02, Bratislava
Slovakia
Phone: +421 904 700 815, +420 911 172 090
E-mail: info@formatspm.sk
Guests
Zuzana Balkóová
Producer
Pavol Korec
Film Director
Ján Meliš
Producer
Judita Gembicka
Producer, Producer
Michal Kondrla
Film Director, Film Institution Rep., Other
Ľubica Malachovská Čekovská
Music Composer
