Translucent Being: Karol Plicka

Plicka's work is an extreme case of the multilingual version and its war and post-war form recalls many period cultural and political contexts. After the war the original version was supplemented by Czech commentary and the soundtrack was replaced by new music consisting of pieces by Baroque Czech composers. Slovak Institute is the partner of the section Translucent Being: Karol Plicka.

A perfect marketing film from the 1930s. The short film is an advertisement for Baťa's new products, presented through the traditional celebration of the end of winter – the carrying of a lighted Marzanna into a stream. Plicka once again stylistically outdoes himself in his search for perfection in natural compositions, Moravian costumes, and traditional songs.   Slovak Institute is the partner of the section Translucent Being: Karol Plicka.

A Czech folklorist who received a prize for a visual myth about Slovakia The Earth Sings (1933) at the Venice Biennale, made for Prag-Film a film about the culture and traditions of the Cheb district (The Egerland, practically uninhabited by Czechs by then), for which a propagandistic prologue and epilogue was shot by F. B. Nier.   Slovak Institute is the partner of the section Translucent Being: Karol Plicka.

A short reportage from post-war Slovakia. President Edvard Beneš came to Banská Bystrica to celebrate the first anniversary of the Slovak National Uprising. His journey through Central Slovakia was a motivating and celebratory moment for the people and the compatriots from the areas of partisan fighting.   Slovak Film Institute and Slovak Institute in Prague are partner of the section Translucent Being: Karol Plicka.

The news film, shot by Karol Plicka, shows the first Czechoslovak President Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk on holiday in the Czech countryside. Plicka was often called upon by Masaryk to photograph portraits and family and state gatherings. The film material proves that Plicka was able to get unusually close to the president and thus capture his joys in an unusual setting.   Slovak Institute is the partner of the section Translucent Being: Karol Plicka.

The second ethnographic film by Karol Plicka, produced by the scientific and cultural institution Matice Slovenská, follows the traditions of festivals, folk architecture, games, and ceremonies of Slovak culture in various villages across Slovakia. Plicka uses a simple filmmaking technique to visit people who are poor but rich in their customs and in sharing of folklore through singing and the beauty of their costumes.   Slovak Film Institute and Slovak Institute in Prague are partner of the section Translucent Being: Karol Plicka.

Plicka's yielding to the concept of the Nazi cultural film is recalled by a film shot for the cultural department of Prag-Film, which celebrates the beauty of Prague as a city constructed exclusively by German and Italian architects. The film was released with a German commentary and music by a German composer.   Slovak Institute is the partner of the section Translucent Being: Karol Plicka.

An ethnographic study of Easter celebrations offers a poetic cameo of rural architecture and springtime customs in the mountains. Karol Plicka's film highlights ancient Slavic folk costumes as a Carpathian village bursts to life in a three-day joyful festivity. Children's carefree games are intercut with the solemn rites of Easter, ancient wooden churches and herds of sheep according to the laws of montage by Alexander Hackenschmied. Some sequences of this film which literally sings are also featured in Plicka's masterpiece The Earth Sings (1933). This silent film is so evocative one can hear the sound of the sheepherder's overtone flute – the fujara. Slovak Institute is the partner of the section Translucent Being: Karol Plicka.

A cinematic poem with an impressive soundtrack that complements the final sketches of the folk culture of the Slovak nation. With its perfectly constructed dramaturgy, the work is based on the beauty of the natural cycle from the end of winter to the beginning of autumn, symbolized by the sun and the tradition of grape harvests. The aesthetically exceptional visual representation of folklore is complemented by poetic intertitles by the Slovak poet Ján Smrek.   Slovak Film Institute and Slovak institute in Prague are the partners of the section Translucent Being: Karol Plicka.

Karol Plicka was an important musician and composer. He recorded folk songs immediately after hearing them in musical notation to preserve them for future generations. Similarly, he records and interprets traditions associated with dance, folk song and local stories that vary from region to region in his film The Eternal Song. The short documentary presents merry-making in Slovak and Czech regions that are changing with the coming modernization and transformation of musical records.   Slovak Institute is the partner of the section Translucent Being: Karol Plicka.

Slovak folklore presents its beauty not only in celebratory customs and children’s games. The short documentary proves that Plicka perceived poetry also in the everyday work of the people, in their determination and their diligence with which they were able to create a legacy for the next generation in a unique connection with traditions and Slovak nature.   Slovak Institute is the partner of the section Translucent Being: Karol Plicka.

A record of the trip of the President of the Czechoslovak Republic Edvard Beneš to Slovakia. The footage maps the journey from Bratislava to central Slovakia, to the towns of Trenčianske Teplice and Mošovce.   Slovak Film Institute and Slovak Institute in Prague are partner of the section Translucent Being: Karol Plicka.

The original introductory part of Karol Plicka’s film The Earth Sings (1933), which was replaced with a sequence of shots of Bratislava during the era of the First Slovak Republic. Spring in Prague is a short film, a poem dedicated to Prague – a city of baroque churches, modern houses of Wenceslas Square, or Wilson Station. Capturing the details of the streets in a modern way, this film by Plicka complements his extensive collection of photographic books about Prague and its architecture. Slovak Institute is the partner of the section Translucent Being: Karol Plicka.

This short ethnographic film is the first part of the series Through the Agricultural World intended to promote village life and the work of the peasants to the townspeople. Plicka chooses stylistically significant and aesthetically impressive shots of sowing grain, Easter celebrations, and children playing in the meadow. Slovak Institute is the partner of the section Translucent Being: Karol Plicka.

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.