Pavol Korec

Adam, 14 ans, vit dans un campement tsigane dans l’est de la Slovaquie. Lorsque son père meurt dans un mystérieux accident, sa mère se remarie avec l’oncle Zigo. Bien vite, le beau-père s’avère être un véritable tyran, qui force Adam à vivre comme un "vrai Tsigane", c’est-à-dire à prêter la main à ses trafics sordides. Or, l’adolescent entend fréquenter l’école et gagner honnêtement sa vie. Le pasteur et un groupe de jeunes reporters lui offrent des perspectives. Le garçon parviendra-t-il à se soustraire au despotisme de son oncle ?

Time passes slowly at the castle in the Slovak town of Stupava. It is, in effect, the local old people’s home, but it also serves as a refuge for others ‘who have lost everything’. The inhabitants (or ‘exhibits’ – since most castles house art galleries) range from an athletic old man in a speedy wheelchair to a philosopher with a taste for neologisms, a lawyer known as ‘the Classic’, a woman who has seen aliens, and the taciturn Liduška, who collects pigeon feathers. Director Pavol Korec has compiled an attractive mosaic of characters who, despite past tragedies, exhibit an enthusiasm for life whatever the constraints. Intelligent use of image and music lift this above the conventional documentary record. Unusual, affectionate, and subtle, the film provides a light-hearted testament and commitment to life as a value independent of neo-capitalist convention.

Time passes slowly at the castle in the Slovak town of Stupava. It is, in effect, the local old people’s home, but it also serves as a refuge for others ‘who have lost everything’. The inhabitants (or ‘exhibits’ – since most castles house art galleries) range from an athletic old man in a speedy wheelchair to a philosopher with a taste for neologisms, a lawyer known as ‘the Classic’, a woman who has seen aliens, and the taciturn Liduška, who collects pigeon feathers. Director Pavol Korec has compiled an attractive mosaic of characters who, despite past tragedies, exhibit an enthusiasm for life whatever the constraints. Intelligent use of image and music lift this above the conventional documentary record. Unusual, affectionate, and subtle, the film provides a light-hearted testament and commitment to life as a value independent of neo-capitalist convention.

The stories of five women from the village of Devičany near Banská Štiavnica. They decided to “redbrand”, to improve, to change the settings of their lives and gender status. They took an axe and cut a hole in the ice on the Veľká Vodárenská tajch and started to harden themselves. And that was the beginning of their rebellion... The village watches them suspiciously and has its own opinion. But laughter gives them courage to break the barriers of gender stereotypes. The Aquabelles of Prandof tells the stories of women in the story of a changing history.

The stories of five women from the village of Devičany near Banská Štiavnica. They decided to “redbrand”, to improve, to change the settings of their lives and gender status. They took an axe and cut a hole in the ice on the Veľká Vodárenská tajch and started to harden themselves. And that was the beginning of their rebellion... The village watches them suspiciously and has its own opinion. But laughter gives them courage to break the barriers of gender stereotypes. The Aquabelles of Prandof tells the stories of women in the story of a changing history.

The stories of five women from the village of Devičany near Banská Štiavnica. They decided to “redbrand”, to improve, to change the settings of their lives and gender status. They took an axe and cut a hole in the ice on the Veľká Vodárenská tajch and started to harden themselves. And that was the beginning of their rebellion... The village watches them suspiciously and has its own opinion. But laughter gives them courage to break the barriers of gender stereotypes. The Aquabelles of Prandof tells the stories of women in the story of a changing history.