Film Archive

The Hungarian Dressmaker

Crystal Globe Competition 2024 / Ema a smrtihlav / Slovak Republic, Czech Republic 2024

Synopsis

It’s the 1940s. The Slovak state witnesses the rise of nationalism and it’s not an auspicious time for minorities. The turbulent social mood also impacts the widow Marika, who loses her job in an Aryanised dressmaker’s shop. Given the increasing anti-Hungarian sentiment, she shuts herself away, particularly since she is also harbouring a little Jewish boy. Despite this, she still finds herself singled out by two men: a German Nazi officer and a captain of Slovakia’s Hlinka Guard. This drama by Slovak director Iveta Grófová is an adaptation of the novella by Peter Krištúfek, which conjures up the dramatic atmosphere of wartime Slovakia. The story of a fragmented era, which forces the protagonists to confront complex dilemmas, is told not only through words, but also by way of a powerful visual language.

Sandra Hezinová

About the film

129 min / Color, DCP
World premiere
Director Iveta Grófová / Screenplay Peter Krištúfek, Iveta Grófová podle stejnojmenné novely / based on the novela Emma and the Death's Head by Peter Krištúfek / Dir. of Photography Martin Štrba / Music Matej Hlaváč / Sound Matej Hlaváč, Tobiáš Potočný / Editor Martin Malo / Art Director Tomáš Svoboda, Miriam Struhárová / Producer Zuzana Mistríková, Ondřej Trojan / Production PubRes s.r.o. / Coproduction Total HelpArt T.H.A., Campfilm, Rozhlas a televízia Slovenska, Miloslav Glac, Česká televize / Cast Alexandra Borbély, Nico Klimek, Milan Ondrík, Alexander E. Fennon / Sales REASON8 Films / Distributor Pilot Film

About the director

Iveta Grófová (1980, Trenčín, Czechoslovakia). Selected filmography: Made in Ash (Až do města Aš, 2012), Slovakia 2.0 (Slovensko 2.0, 2014), Little Harbour (Piata loď, 2017), The Hungarian Dressmaker (Ema a smrtihlav, 2024).