Visiting Slovaks from New York through to Mississippi

director: Karol Plicka

original title: Za Slovákmi od New Yorku po Mississippi

year: 1937

running time: 82 min.

synopsis

Having finished his film Jánošík (1935), Plicka embarks on the journey of a lifetime. Accompanied by a Slovak-Czech delegation of politicians, inventors, and cultural representatives, he is particularly interested in the life of Slovaks in America. He observes the towns and the architecture, and remarkably documents their old as well as new customs and skills. During his trip, he visited nearly more than eighteen major American cities, as well as Lake Ontario and Niagara Falls.

Producer, musician and film composer Jonatan Pastirčák performs under the pseudonyms Isama Zing and Pjoni. He has been active on the Czechoslovak music scene for over 15 years – at the age of 10, he founded the duo Tucan, with producer Adam Matej (Ink Midget). The duo later formed the electronic project Ink Midget & Pjoni, which eventually led to their solo careers. In addition to their own performances, they are currently collaborating with the songwriter Katarzia, with whom they met while working on the music for the National Theatre of the Slovak Republic's stage play, Antigone. In recent years Jonatan has been involved in the production of many notable albums on the Czech and Slovak scene, such as Zvíře jménem podzim - Září, Zrní - Nebeský klid, Katarzia - Antigona and on her latest album Celibát. He composed music for the films Špina, V síti, Mečiar and others. Additionally, he is the author of several audiovisual installations, in cooperation with the brilliant visual artist Jan Šicko. Under the pseudonym Isama Zing he was part of the international platform for experimental music and new media: the Shape platform.

Slovak Institute is the partner of the section Translucent Being: Karol Plicka.

biography

Karol Plicka (1894–1987) was a famous Slovak-Czech photographer, folklorist, filmmaker and collector of moments, ethnographer, cameraman, director, music scientist and pedagogue, violin virtuoso and professor, co-founder of the Prague FAMU film school (1946), admirer of nature and traditional folk work, and admirer of architecture and folk crafts. Plicka’s films have been awarded at festivals in Italy (Florence, Venice) and his photography books and songbooks are still collectible today. Karol Plicka was a personality who still inspires and motivates enthusiasm for the culture of our ancestors.