Wasteland Chronicles

synopsis

Three female directors, three contaminated sites, three markedly different aesthetic approaches. The “triangle of death” in eastern Slovakia, formed by three local chemical plants, the tar pits in Predajná and Bratislava’s Vrakuňa, from where toxins spread towards Žitný ostrov (literally “Rye Island”) – the largest drinking water reservoir in Central Europe. This hybrid trilogy flows seamlessly from an investigative thriller and meditative essay on the relationship between the human and the non-human to a dystopian animated documentary. A report on systemic paralysis, the exhaustion of the local population and the inaction of politicians simultaneously evolves into a reflection on a future in which we may have no choice but to connect to a virtual mycelium.

“People are tired. They don’t want to talk about it anymore, certainly not on camera, they don’t want to solve the problem. They don’t even want to protest – they are exhausted. We want to start this discussion again. That’s our ambition.” — producer Anna Mach Rumanová, Variety

biography

Viera Čákanyová (1980), Lucia Kašová (1983) and Barbora Sliepková (1993) are among the leading figures in contemporary Slovak documentary filmmaking. In their work, which has been screened at festivals in Berlin, Toronto and Lyon, they combine social and environmental themes with a distinctive style.

film details

director:	Viera Čákanyová, Barbora Sliepková, Lucia Kašová
producer:	Anna Mach Rumanová, Martina Netíková
photography:	Maxim Kľujev, Pavol Matia
editing:	Alexandra Gojdičová, Filip de Pina
music:	Ondřej Mikula
sound:	Jakub Jurásek, Marek Buranovský

contact

Anna Mach Rumanová / filmsomnia
anna@filmsomnia.sk