People Next Door 2017 / Slepé lásky / Slovak Republic 2008
Compiled from four stories illustrating just how rich their world is, the film explores the different forms of love experienced by the visually impaired – a world that is very often much brighter and more colorful than our own.
They say that love is blind. But does this apply to love between blind people? Back in 2003 experienced Slovak documentarist Juraj Lehotský began collecting material for his feature-length debut about the different forms of love which the visually impaired experience. In the end, he compiled his film from four separate stories: The protagonist of the first tale is music teacher Peter who, apart from perfect pitch, is also endowed with a remarkable imagination, eloquently illustrated in the film via playful special effects. The love story between blind Miro and weak-sighted Monika, whose parents aren’t keen on the match, almost assumes the dimensions of classical drama. In the next story, we see Elena and Laco, whose love for one another gradually evolves into a parental bond as the pair wait anxiously for the birth of their child. The heroine of the final story is 14-year-old Zuzka, who hopes that the boy she’s found on the internet is The One. This delicate mosaic of stories about heroes blind from birth opens up the rich world they have created for themselves – a world that is very often much brighter and more colorful than our own.
MFF KV
77 min / Color, 35 mm
Director Juraj Lehotský
/ Screenplay Marek Leščák, Juraj Lehotský
/ Dir. of Photography Juraj Chlpík
/ Editor František Krähenbiel
/ Producer Marko Škop, Ján Meliš, František Krähenbiel, Juraj Chlpík, Juraj Lehotský
/ Production Artileria
/ Cast Peter Kolesár, Iveta Koprdová, Miro Daniel, Monika Brabcová, Jolana Danielová
/ Sales Artileria, s.r.o.
/ Distributor Artcam Films
Juraj Lehotský (b. 1975, Bratislava, Czechoslovakia) graduated in photography from an applied arts secondary school (1994) and in documentary film direction from the Academy of Performing Arts (2000), both in Bratislava. He has made a number of short documentaries. His first feature-length film, the documentary Blind Loves (2008), premiered in Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes in 2008 and was subsequently screened and awarded at a number of other international film festivals. That same year the film screened in KVIFF’s Documentary Film Competition. In 2013 he debuted in feature film with Miracle, which opened the East of the West Competition at Karlovy Vary, where it earned a Special Jury Mention and went on to tour a number of other festivals (Cottbus, Vilnius). Juraj Lehotský’s second feature film Nina is competing in this year’s East of the West at KVIFF.
Artileria, s.r.o.
Drobného 23, 841 01, Bratislava
Slovakia
E-mail: [email protected]
Artcam Films
Rašínovo nábřeží 6, 128 00, Praha 2
Czech Republic
Phone: +420 221 411 619
Fax: +420 221 411 699
E-mail: [email protected]
Juraj Lehotský
Film Director
Marko Škop
Film Director, Producer
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