Film Archive

The Killing of a Journalist

Special Screenings 2022 / The Killing of a Journalist / Denmark, USA, Czech Republic 2022

In February 2018 Slovakia was shaken by the cold-blooded murder of investigative journalist Ján Kuciak and his fiancée. This Danish documentary coproduction unravels the tentacles of the Slovak mafia and much else besides, and this from a valuable foreign perspective. The appalling story is reminiscent of the plot from a sophisticated thriller, although the sad fact remains that the reality itself was and still is just as barbaric.

Synopsis

In February 2018 Slovakia was shaken by the cold-blooded murder of investigative journalist Ján Kuciak and his fiancée Martina Kušnírová, yet few people had any idea of the intricate nature of this terrible crime. Public pressure for an inquiry then led to the country's biggest protests since the fall of communism… This Danish documentary coproduction unravels the tentacles of the Slovak mafia and much else besides, and this from a valuable foreign perspective and with the necessary sense of detachment. The tale of oligarchs, crooked judges, egotistical businessmen, corrupt policemen and unscrupulous politicians is reminiscent of the plot from a sophisticated thriller, although the sad fact remains that the reality itself was and continues to be just as barbaric.

Martin Horyna

About the film

102 min / Color, DCP
European premiere
Director Matt Sarnecki / Dir. of Photography Anna Smoroňová / Music Kristian Eidnes Andersen / Sound Marek Poledna / Editor Janus Billeskov Jansen / Producer Signe Byrge Sørensen / Production Final Cut for Real / Coproduction OCCRP, Frame Films, For Got Fat Productions / Sales Cinephil