Slovakian producer Mátyás Prikler, of MPhilms, made his first feature-length directorial outing, Fine, Thanks [+leggi anche:
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scheda film], in 2013, after co-writing it with Marek Leščák (who also lent his writing skills to The Interpreter [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Martin Šulík
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intervista: Iveta Grófová
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scheda film], among others). Prikler mostly focused on producing after his first directorial feature; however, he has recently been preparing his next feature-length project under the title Power [+leggi anche:
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scheda film]. Teaming up with Leščák once again on writing duties, his sophomore feature marks a departure from the social-realist drama he debuted with. Power is intended to be a political thriller and crime film, a genre for which there is a considerable appetite in domestic theatres (see the news and the article). The film broaches the topics of politics and power in modern-day Western democracies.

In it, a high-ranking politician kills a child by accident. A retired secret-service agent is tasked with covering the tracks leading to the real perpetrator as the investigation unfolds. However, a journalist senses something is not right and starts his own investigation. The producers said the story “uncovers the hidden machinery of political power and attempts to maintain it, but asks questions about the true identity of political figures and about the stories behind the masks they show to the public”. Power’s leading motif is the truth, the forms it takes in public life, and the possible ways of pursuing and concealing it.

The film’s producer, Zora Jaurová, told Cineuropa that principal photography would start in November and should last until March 2020, with shooting locations taking in Slovakia, Vienna and Budapest. The post-production work is planned to take place between April and December 2020, with the world premiere slated for the following year. Power is being produced by Slovakian company MPhilms (Zora Jaurová, Matyás Prikler), and is being co-produced by Petr Oukropec and Pavel Strnad, of Negativ, for the Czech Republic (the company also co-produced Marko Škop’s latest film, Let There Be Light [+leggi anche:
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scheda film], which is Slovakia’s submission for Best International Feature Film at the 92^nd Academy Awards), and by Viktória Petrányi and Kornél Mundruczó, from Proton Cinema, for Hungary. Hungarian director Szabolcs Hajdu will star in the film alongside Jan Kačer, Éva Bandor, Attila Mokos, Lucia Kašová and Mihály Kormos. Gergély Palos, the DoP on Roy Andersson’s latest film, About Endlessness [+leggi anche:
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scheda film], will lens the movie.

The film was supported by the Slovak Audiovisual Fund, the Hungarian National Film Fund, the Czech Film Fund, Kultminor, Creative Europe Media, Eurimages and Radio and Television Slovakia. Power was presented at the HFM Co-Production Platform (Netherlands Film Festival) and the Les Arcs Co-Production Village, and Zora Jaurová was picked for Ace 25 with the project. The budget is €1.59 million, and the producers are in negotiations with potential sales agents.