Each of the four short stories, framed by the figure of the photographer, depicts the lives of women and girls whose work has brought them to the limelight, but also marked their relationships with those closest to them.
Slovakia, on the eve of the outbreak of World War II. The family of the young Jewish Martin Friedmann gathers to celebrate his bar mitzvah and make a solemn promise that they will all meet again a year later around the same table; but the storms of war and anti-Semitic fanaticism will lead each of them down very different paths.
An unusual children's film set during World War II in Czechoslovakia, this compelling drama unfolds five different segments that present the war through the eyes of three youngsters. The three have a series of adventures which include saving a soldier from being captured by the Germans, helping out the resistance fighters, and meeting up with a young Russian woman trained in guerrilla warfare. As they learn more about life and danger, various circumstances constantly recall the reality of war itself. The title comes from a wounded pigeon under the care of one of the youngsters.
A contemporary story about the emotional maturation of fifteen-year-olds, their relationships with school and their future profession. A secret group of "Timurs" works at the school, which condemns shortcomings in behavior and works for the benefit of the students. Against the background of their detective work, the relationship between Ivan and Dana develops, which is disrupted by Dana's irreversible vision defect.
A dramatic story from the environment of young actors, students of the Bratislava theatre school. Betka Šimanová, a young acting adept, is a diligent student, but diligence, perseverance and hard work cannot make up for her lack of talent. She comes to this realization only after experiencing many disappointments and setbacks.
Agáta, a sensitive and impractical childless widow, is placed in a retirement home not out of neglect or poverty but because her middle-aged relatives, overwhelmed by their own responsibilities, believe she will fare better among peers. Unprepared for life among strangers with quirky habits and opinions, she strives to adapt yet finds herself traumatized by the selfishness of a difficult roommate.
A movie built up of three stories about life in a small Slovak town. The Prosecutor: the district attorney is a jazz orchestra soloist at the same time and that is much disliked by the local provincial society. The Defender: is about a young doctor's relation to his patient, who is open about his reactionary opinions. The Judge: it is only after long years that the old judge realizes that his own marriage is in jeopardy.
The freshly graduated engineer gradually sobers up from his student ideals and encounters a different reality than he had expected. Few people understand his resistance to the established conditions in a prosperous company, and the hero's personal conflicts with his superiors deepen. He recognises hypocrisy: people say something different from what they really think. He encounters sycophancy and calculation whether he stays in the country or moves to the big city.
Dramatization of four classic one-act plays by J. G. Tajovský: "Hriech" (Sin, 1911), "Tma" (Darkness, 1912), "V službe" (In the Service, 1911) and "Matka" (Mother, 1906), which capture the image of social changes and changes in people's thinking prior to the First World War.
The sweet story of the Bratislava architect Andrej and the beautiful Vanda, with whom Andrej, who has been cynical about women, falls in love for the first time.
A comedy about five students who are un-justly suspected of trying to lose their virginity before their graduation. The five girls first try to defend themselves, but when they find out that nobody believes them - neither the school principal nor even their own parents - they decide to accomplish what they have been falsely accused of. And although their clumsy attempts are mostly comic, at one point they almost cause a big tragedy.
This film is a psychological study of a woman who chooses solitude as an escape from the duplicity and emotional barrenness of the men around her.
An original TV adaptation of a play about human solidarity. The story of a man who, feeling guilty for the death of his son, retreats into isolation for several years, but an unexpected situation forces him to return to active life. This television play, which breaks with convention, is a direct attack on the established routine. The author makes maximum use of visual expression and, with its help, develops the retrospective plot, the passage of time, and its impact on the present in a concise and even suggestive manner.
The story of the television film takes place in the picturesque scenery of the Slovak mountains, amidst beautiful nature. It is a balladic story about the relationship of two young people, about human dreams, desires, and passions.
A film about the uncertainties faced by a man in post-Communist Slovakia, his relationship with a teenage son and English teacher girlfriend who's soon to return home to England.
The film presents a parade of customs, music, songs and dances of the Slovak people in four seasons, based on a theatre play by I. Teren and K.L. Zachar from the first years after the liberation.
Ten short unrelated stories that move chronologically through Slovakia's twentieth-century history as seen from the perspective of life in small towns and villages.
Set in Czechoslovakia in the summer of 1938, about two children who play together and who are great friends. However their days of friendship are numbered...