Outlaw Juraj Jánošík (1688–1713) is a Slovak national legend. It is thus no coincidence that the first Slovak feature film, produced in 1921 by the Slovak/American film studio Tatra Film Corporation and directed by Jaroslav Siakeľ (1896–1997), was none other than Jánošík, starring Czech actor Theodor Pištěk, Sr. The filmmakers were inspired by Gustav Maršall-Petrovský’s novel Jánošík, Captain of Mountain Lads: His Tumultuous Life and Horrific Death (1894) and Jiří Mahen’s stage play Janošík (1910).

The film was shot using two cameras, with scenes acted out separately for each. Only the American version has survived, restored by film historian Ivan Rumanovský in 1975.

At the opening of the 28th Art Film Fest, the Festival President’s Award will be presented to Jaroslav Siakeľ in memoriam. And to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the film’s creation, Art Film Fest will present a special screening of Jánošík featuring live music performed by David Kollar. Kollar is a Slovak guitarist and composer who in recent years has established himself internationally as one of the most notable figures of Europe’s avant-garde and jazz scenes. His over-20-album discography includes Sculpting in Time (2019), boasting performances by rock and jazz heavyweights such as Eric Truffaz, Arve Henriksen, Pat Mastelotto and Christian Fennesz. In 2019 he received a special prize at Slovakia’s Radio_Head Awards for his contribution to music, and he also earned a Slovak national Sun in a Net Award for Best Music with his soundtrack to the drama Punk Never Ends!.