Marika, a Hungarian widow dressmaker, shelters a little Czech Jewish boy in her home on the Slovak-Hungarian border during the turbulent years of WW2 and the Wartime Slovak State. Based on Peter Krištúfek’s novel Emma and the Death’s Head and inspired by true events, the screening marks the Holocaust Memorial Day.
It’s the 1940s. The Slovak state witnessed 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 through words and powerful visual language.
Iveta Grófová, Czech Republic/Slovakia, 2024, 129‘
Cast Alexandra Borbély, Nico Klimek, Milan Ondrík, Alexander E. Fennon
Premiered at the Crystal Globe Competition at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival 2024
Ticket Website:
Responses