.Film

Servants

Slovak Title   ·  Služobníci
Director   ·   Ivan Ostrochovský
Genre   ·   drama

Two students of a theological seminary in totalitarian Czechoslovakia must decide if they’ll choose the easier way of collaboration, or if they’ll subject themselves to the surveillance of the secret police.

.Sinopsis

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.

.Historical context

Since 1948, when the Communist Party took over Czechoslovakia, the secret police persecuted priests who were unwilling to adapt to the new conditions. In order to control and manipulate the church, the state created Pacem in Terris, a collaborationist clerical organisation implanted into the ecclesiastical structures.

While some priests joined Pacem in Terris for the benefits offered by the organisation, others did so with the hopes of protecting the church’s mere existence, which was otherwise under constant threat.

In response, an underground church was formed with the goal of maintaining spiritual purity, ordaining secret priests and serving informal mass in private homes, all the while staying independent of state affairs.

The film takes place in the early 1980s. Three decades into Communist rule, Czechoslovak society is undergoing steep moral decline, but still no one dares to believe that the regime could one day come to an end.

.Cast

Samuel Skyva   ·   Juraj
Samuel Polakovič   ·   Michal
Vlad Ivanov   ·   Doctor Ivan
Vladimír Strnisko   ·   Dean
Milan Mikulčík   ·   Spiritual
Tomáš Turek   ·   Ductor
Vladimír Zboroň   ·   Secretary
Martin Šulík   ·   Physician
Vladimír Obšil   ·   Coufar
Zvonko Lakčević   ·   Secret policeman

.Production

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)

.Support

Slovak Audiovisual Fund (SK), Eurimages (EU), CNC (RO), Czech Film Fund (CZ), Bratislava Municipality Fund (SK), Romanian Public Television (RO)

.Crew

Director   ·   Ivan Ostrochovský
Story   ·   Marek Leščák
Script   ·   Rebecca Lenkiewicz, Marek Leščák, Ivan Ostrochovský
Cinematography   ·   Juraj Chlpík
Sound   ·   Tobiáš Potočný
Editing   ·   Jan Daňhel, Martin Malo, Maroš Šlapeta
Costume Designer   ·   Katarína Hollá
Make-up Artist   ·   Lukáš Král
Composers   ·   Miroslav Tóth, Cristian Lolea

Producers   ·   Ivan Ostrochovský, Albert Malinovský, Katarína Tomková
Co-producers   ·   Oana Giurgiu, Tudor Giurgiu, Ivana Kurincová, Petr Oukropec, Pavel Strnad, Sam Taylor, Mike Downey, Marek Urban
Executive Producer   ·   Albert Malinovský

.Festival Selections

BERLINALE 2020 – ENCOUNTERS COMPETITION, Germany – World Premiere
NEW DIRECTORS / NEW FILMS 2020, USA
VALLADOLID IFF 2020, Lithuania – BEST FILM
FF GENT 2020, Belgium – Best Soundtrack and Sound Design
FESTIVAL DU NOUVEAU CINÉMA DE MONTRÉAL 2020, Canada
REYKJAVIK IFF 2020, Iceland
THESSALONIKI FILM FESTIVAL 2020, Greece
RIGA IFF 2020, Latvia
EUROPEAN FILM FORUM SCANORAMA 2020, Lithuania
STOCKOLM IFF 2020, Sweden
CAIRO IFF 2020, Egypt
MACAO FF 2020, China
LES ARCS FILM FESTIVAL 2020, France

.The project has taken part in the following industry platforms

Pitch & Feedback / Karlovy Vary IFF 2015
Connecting Cottbus / Cottbus FF 2015
Arras Days / Arras FF 2015 / Stipended for development by the CNC Award for Best Project
Industry Days / Febiofest IFF 2016
Works in Progress / Les Arcs FF 2018
Works in Progress / Les Films de Cannes a Bucarest 2018 & 2019

.Social Media