Michal Soltész

In communist Czechoslovakia in 1980, 15-year-old Mara dreams of leaving her village to study in the city and become a pilot. But her father, a widowed Ruthenian farmer, insists she stay and work the land. When her village faces destruction due to a new dam, their generational conflict intensifies, revealing the struggle between tradition, identity, and the desire for freedom in a context of historical change.

When Milan, a traveling sweet vendor missing a leg, discovers hungry Veronka has stolen two Turkish delights, he shows compassion by buying her lunch. Grateful, Veronka offers to help him at his market stall, and a spark ignites between them. After a stormy night in a rundown motel, they fall deeply in love and begin dreaming of a future together, but can their bond withstand society’s prejudice against a one-legged man and a young Roma woman?

Jano is an old-fashioned tradesman. However, a new idea by politicians to introduce an old-age tax pulls him out of his comfort zone.

The film captures a period in the life of figure skater Ondrej Nepela, when in 1972 he returns with a gold medal from the Winter Olympic Games in Sapporo, marking the peak of his sporting career. At home, he is greeted not only with fame but also with the realities of the communist regime. Everyone treats him like a celebrity, but the sensitive Ondrej longs above all for an escape from this uncomfortable golden cage. He wants to live freely and in harmony with who he feels he truly is. Yet at the last moment, his promised chance to leave for a professional ice revue is forbidden, and he is ordered to compete in another World Championship. Disappointed, Nepela must find new motivation and also come to terms with the tragic death of his best friend, figure skater Hana Mašková.

An art film brings a strongly actual topic in a very original way, a topic that interferes with the theme of intercultural dialog of two different cultures in the European context. two men, pilots of combat air crafts, meet on a 'film' island. Between them too, the language problem presents a communication barrier. Enemies in the sky. On the ground? A Slovak and a Hungarian - two different people, different countries, different problems, but in the lives of both there is She - the woman. For her their lives are turned upside down. They do not understand what was obvious so far and they face the decision which way to turn to.

Life is the only game one does not choose for oneself. The central theme of the film is not only the stories connected to the casino space, gambling and poker players, but also stories from the outside world - the game as a life feeling given to man from birth. Playing in the casino space is the essence of fun and relaxation, but also of the feeling of gambling, it has a kind of mysterious flavour to it. The world 'beyond the walls', the outside world, and therefore politics, is a world of even greater games. Politics influences people's lives, plays with them and, unlike the 'poker' world, often uses unfair means, has no set rules of the game and sometimes even fights against them.