Film Jury
Silvia Klasová
Silvia has been involved in film and audiovisual production since her studies at the Film and Television Faculty of the Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava, starting in 1997. For 13 years, she worked as a head writer and later as a creative producer on the daily TV series Ulice (TV Nova). She is the founder of the 4 Elements Summer Film Festival in Banská Štiavnica, where she is currently responsible for the programming and organization of the children’s section, Children’s 4 Elements. After a recent visit to Japan, she dreams of another journey to explore the hidden corners of this fascinating country.
Martin Krasňanský
Mountaineer Martin Krasňanský was born and raised in Pezinok, in a winemaking family. He started climbing at the age of 17 on crags around Bratislava, inspired in part by reading Ivan Bajo’s cult book Smiech na lane (Laughter on the Rope). He has been climbing for over 20 years, from small crags to the Karakoram, but his greatest passion lies in the Tatras. His deep connection to the Tatras motivated him to move closer to their foothills and spend as much time as possible on their walls, where he feels most himself. He is also the creator of the successful podcast Za skalami (Beyond the Rocks), where he introduces interesting figures from the Slovak and Czech climbing scene.
Martina Martausová
Martina Martausová is a university lecturer at the Department of English and American Studies at P. J. Šafárik University in Košice. She specializes in American film, film interpretation, and representation. She is a co-organizer of the Hory a Mesto festival in Prešov and serves as a judge for the short film competition Kraťasy at the Pocity Film Festival in Prešov. Besides film, her great passions are mountains and forests. She runs, skis, and climbs a lot—both with and without her children, at home and around the world.
Pavol Pekarčík
Pavol Pekarčík was born in Spišská Sobota and lives in Košice. He graduated from the Department of Documentary Directing at the Film and Television Faculty of the Academy of Performing Arts (FTF VŠMU) in Bratislava and works as a director, cinematographer, and producer. Together with Ivan Ostrochovský, he co-directed the films Menšie zlo (2004), Vietor (2004), Karakoram (2005), Uli Blaho (2008), and Velvet Terrorists (2013). He worked as an editor and cinematographer on Ivan Ostrochovský’s film Ilja (2010), as an assistant director on Martin Šulík’s Gypsy (2011), and as a co-producer, production manager, and assistant director on Iveta Grófová’s Made in Ash (2012). In 2019, he directed the critically acclaimed hybrid film Silent Days about deaf Roma children. His latest film, Photophobia, which he co-directed again with Ivan Ostrochovský, premiered at the Venice Film Festival, where it received an award, and also won the main prize in the Czech Joy section at the Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival. The film is Slovakia’s official submission for the Oscars.