The Calling

Erik Praus / Slovakia / 2019 / International Premiere / 70 min.

synopsis

Fathers Gabriel, Vicilentius, and Nazari, three monks of varying ages living at the Orthodox Pochayiv Lavra monastery in Ukraine, spend their time in isolation from the world. Nevertheless, they all came here after having lived a worldly life, and so they harbor memories of the turbulent recent history of their homeland. The film brings these memories to life against the backdrop of their daily routine within the monastery’s majestic architecture. The quiet, meditative observation of the monks’ rituals, work, and free time creates a sympathetic portrait of a place and its inhabitants, using snippets of life to offer a glimpse into their existence.

“This film is shows a metamorphosis of a human individual who abandoned the worldly life and decided to follow God.” E. Praus

biography

Erik Praus (1979) studied documentary filmmaking in Bratislava. He first gained attention thanks to his graduate film Recyklátor (2009) about the employees of a waste recycling company. He also directed the feature-length documentary When Land Is Looking for Its Heaven (2016), in which he followed five residents of a village to report on the values of way of life of people living in eastern Slovakia.

more about film

director:	Erik Praus
cast:	Vater Gabriel Gabriel, Vater Vicilentius, Vater Nazarij
producer:	Peter Neveďal
script:	Erik Praus
photography:	Peter Kovač
editing:	Peter Harum
sound:	David Kollár, Michal Džadoň