“Servants” to be released in Romanian cinemas

UPDATE October 8, 2020: Due to the increase of COVID-19 cases, the cinema theatres in Bucharest have been closed for an indefinite period. The premiere of the film had to be postponed for a later date. Keep you posted.

Servants / Servitorii, directed by Ivan Ostrochovský, enters Romanian cinemas starting from October 16, distributed by Transilvania Film. The film starring Vlad Ivanov tackles a controversial topic in Eastern Europe, including Romania: the collaboration of priests with the totalitarian regime.

The feature film is co-produced in Romania by Oana Giurgiu and Tudor Giurgiu and had its world premiere in the Encounters competition, at the Berlinale Film Festival.

The year is 1980. Michal and Juraj are students at a theological seminary in totalitarian Czechoslovakia. Fearing the dissolution of their school, the tutors are moulding the seminarians into a shape satisfactory to the ruling Communist Party. Each of the young students must decide if he will give into the temptation and choose the easier way of collaborating with the regime, or if he will subject himself to draconian surveillance by the secret police.

The cast features newcomers such as Samuel Skyva and Samuel Polakovič, and well-known actors such as Vlad Ivanov, Vladimír Strnisko, Milan Mikulčík , Tomáš Turek.

“Slovakian director Ivan Ostrochovský’s sophomore feature is a brilliantly crafted, atmospherically enveloping seminary drama”, according to Variety.

“An uncompromising piece of arthouse cinema with thriller elements in this story of the Catholic Church in communist Czechoslovakia”, writes Cineuropa.org.

The script was written by Rebecca Lenkiewicz (Ida, Disobedience), together with Marek Leščák and Ivan Ostrochovský. Camera: Juraj Chlpík. Editors: Jan Daňhel, Martin Malo, Maroš Šlapeta. Music: Miroslav Tóth, Cristian Lolea.

Ivan Ostrochovský, Born 1972 in Žilina, Slovak Republic. Graduated in documentary filmmaking at the Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava and the Academy of Arts in Banská Bystrica. He directed a few short films and several short and feature-length documentaries, including the award-winning documentary “Zamatovi Teroristi / Velvet Terrorists”, which was shown in the goEast section Beyond Belonging in 2014. He is a co-owner and producer at Sentimentalfilm and Punkchart Films. “Goat / Koza” is his first full-length fiction film as a director.

The film is a production of Punkchart films (SK), Point Film (RO), Radio and Television of Slovakia (SK), Negativ (CZ), Film and Music Entertainment (IE), Libra Film Productions (RO), Hai Hui Entertainment (RO), sentimentalfilm (SK).

Made with the support of Slovak Audiovisual Fund (SK), Eurimages (EU), CNC (RO), Czech Film Fund (CZ), Slovak Film Commission (SK), Bratislava Municipality Fund (SK), Romanian Public Television (RO).

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