Atlantis, 2003 selected for Cannes IFF

25 May 2017

Czech Film

Atlantis, 2003 selected for Cannes IFF

Czech Film

Atlantis, 2003 selected for Cannes IFF

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The short student film co-produced by the Slovak VSMU and the Czech FAMU, Atlantis, 2003, directed by Michal Blasko, was selected to the La Cinéfondation section at the Cannes Film Festival. 


Article by Hedvika Petrželková for Czech Film Magazine / Summer 2017

The year is 2003 and a young Ukrainian couple is trying to get to Western Europe through Slovakia, but it isn’t as easy as they expected. 

For his new short film, director Michal Blaško, a student at the Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava, chose a subject from Central Europe’s recent past. The film, shot as a Slovak-Czech co-production, will be presented this spring at Cannes, in the Cinéfondation section. Blaško’s Atlantis, 2003, made in coproduction with FAMU in Prague, takes place four years before Slovakia became part of the Schengen Area, which allows passport-free travel between countries in Europe. Martin and Denisija are a young Ukrainian couple who cross  the border into Slovakia illegally. Today, the border between the two states is one of the most closely guarded in  Europe, but in 2003 it was a heavily trafficked route for alcohol and cigarette smugglers, as well as migration by people who hoped for a better life in Western Europe. Martin and Denisija dream of making their way to Germany, and they are both determined to sacrifice everything for that dream. But their initial enthusiasm is soon crushed by a dramatic experience that changes everything.

Atlantis, 2003 is a Slovak-Czech co-production, with the Czech side represented by Veronika Jelšíková, a student of film production at FAMU in Prague, Petr Hansalík as editor, and several others. Czech films have a rich tradition of participation in the Cinéfondation section at Cannes, including the drama Retriever (dir. Tomáš Klein and Tomáš Merta, 2015), the animated comedy Ham Story (dir. Eliška Chytková, 2013), the ecologically engaged Pandas (dir. Matúš Vizár, 2013), the drama Tambylles (dir. Michal Hogenauer, 2012), the tragicomedy Cagey Tigers (dir. Aramisova, 2011), and the psychological drama Bába (dir. Zuzana Špidlová), which won the Cinéfondation main prize in 2009.

Watch the trailer

Michal Blaško (b. 1989) is a student at the Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava. He previously completed studies at the Miroslav Ondříček Academy in Písek, where he majored in directing and screenwriting under the guidance of director Zuzana Zemanová. His short student film The Wall (2014) won awards at several international film festivals. His next short film, Fear (2015), was also a success, making its international premiere at the San Sebastian International Film Festival, and winning the main prize at Famufest, in Prague, as well as the prize for best short film at Caméflex-AFC, in Paris.

Read more articles from Czech Film Magazine Summer HERE

Related films

Atlantis, 2003

2003, four years before Slovakia joined the Schengen Area. Martin and Denisija, a young couple from Ukraine, are trying to get illegaly to Germany through Slovakia, like many others. The border between Slovakia and Ukraine will…

Director

Michal Blaško

Year

2017

Genre

Fiction

Related people

Michal Blaško

Director, Writer

Czech Film Center
division of the Czech Film Fund promoting Czech cinema worldwide

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