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PRODUCTION Slovakia

Slovakia’s Marko Škop to tackle extremism and xenophobia in his next project

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- The filmmaker is readying the script for his sophomore fiction feature, Let There Be Light

Slovakia’s Marko Škop to tackle extremism and xenophobia in his next project
Filmmaker Marko Škop (© SITA/Marko Erd)

After several critically acclaimed documentaries, Marko Škop’s major international breakthrough came about thanks to his first fiction feature, Eva Nová [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Marko Škop
film profile
]
, which follows a burnt-out, ageing actress as she tries to salvage her long-neglected relationship with her son. Having raked in accolades at home and abroad, the Slovakian filmmaker is now preparing for his next feature, Let There Be Light. “I am interested in the theme of the common man, the everyman, who, with his own tiny share of the blame, unconsciously contributes to a mass xenophobic soul when he is confronted directly with the consequences of hate through the events that take place within a family. I am interested in a confrontation between the world of the individual and his family, and the world of the whole wider family of mankind. I am also interested in becoming aware that correctness is not just a word, but it means something – there are human values above and beyond an individual, and his or her own fear or frustration,” reveals the filmmaker.

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Škop intends to explore the theme through the story of a Slovakian Gastarbeiter working in Germany, who finds out that his teenage son, who is involved with a nationalistic, semi-military group, is accused of bullying and killing a classmate. The father sets out to uncover the full story of what really happened, and his efforts eventually unearth the truth about the whole state of affairs – and himself. Škop has already begun researching the topic by talking to Slovakian Gastarbeiters in Bavaria, and he is continuously working on the script, which he envisions completing by January 2017.

The drama will be produced by Škop’s independent production outfit, Artileria, while the producers plan to seek co-producing partners in the Czech Republic and Germany, where part of the story takes place. Similarly to the development of Eva Nová, the Slovakian writer-director wishes to participate in some European training programmes with the project and develop it in conjunction with foreign experts. Let There Be Light should enter the production phase in winter 2017 or 2018.

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