JURY
Lenka Poláková
She has dedicated nearly her entire professional career to Czech Television, where she began as a news editor, later working as a screenwriter, author of investigative, social, and historical documentaries, dramaturge, and eventually chief dramaturge. Since 2012, she has served as Creative Producer of the Public Affairs and Documentary Production Group, which continuously focuses on major phenomena of both the present and the past, as well as on social issues, natural sciences, and cultural heritage, in both traditional and cross-genre formats.
In stand-alone documentaries, she favors a critical reflection of history and contemporary society, explores prominent cultural and public figures, and actively engages with environmental themes. In documentary series, she concentrates on significant historical personalities and on the promotion of both physical and mental health, while also placing consistent emphasis on the exploration of important Czech landmarks and natural heritage. She is likewise involved in international co-productions (e.g., the series Blue Blood, Hidden Gems, Infiltration, Treasures of Our Landscape, The Czech Trail, Report on the Great War, Life with Death, World Divided, Holiday in the Age of Steam, Legion 100, How to Build a Good School, Born in 1918, The Traces of Jára Cimrman, The Underground Phenomenon, Extraordinary Lives, We, the Citizens of the Protectorate; as well as stand-alone documentaries such as Stream of Time, Born for Africa, Steel Sharks, Kovy Explores History, I Have Not Yet Smoked My Last Cigarillo, What a Lie Can Do, War Reporters, Who’s Acting Foolish Here, etc.).
She has also been a long-standing supporter of amateur film, repeatedly serving as a jury member at numerous showcases – Czech Visions, Czech Video Salon, Rychnov Eight, Vysokov Rooster, Czech Sun, among others. Additionally, she has served on juries at international festivals such as Prix Europe and Prix Italia.
Roman Vávra
He is a professional director of both feature and documentary films. Since his studies at FAMU in the early 1990s, he has collaborated extensively with Czech Television. His feature films include Co chytneš v žitě and Čert ví proč, while his notable documentaries include Bitva o život (co-directed with M. Janek and V. Janeček), Ivan Havel – Pozdní sběr, Jako bychom dnes zemřít měli (Josef Toufar), Klackovitý architekt Martin Rajniš, Když já tak rád diriguju (Jiří Bělohlávek), Svět podle Muchy, Kouzelný kopec, and Případ Modrý.
He has also served as a lecturer in film directing and is actively engaged in the professional association ARAS, where he held the position of chairman for several years.
Peter Dimitrov
Peter Dimitrov studied Law and Film Directing at the Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava (Doc. Mgr. ArtD). His work primarily focuses on documentary filmmaking, non-fiction literature, and projects with social and historical themes, alongside his pedagogical activities.
His versatile career also spans commercials, music videos, art films, and other cinematic works across multiple genres. Central to his oeuvre are authorial films, including Služobníci a milionári, Ten istý svet, Missa Danubia, Jas originál, Vízie z inferna, Ten tet, C’est la vie, Čas grimás, and other personal films. His filmography also encompasses several documentary series.
He has received numerous national and international awards, including recognition at the 24th FIFA Festival du Film sur l’Art (Montreal), the International Critics’ Prize Don Quijote, three awards at Internacional Fest Telč, the Art Film Festival Trenčianske Teplice, Etno Film Čatca, the SFZ USTT Award, and the Literary Fund Award. His films have been showcased at festivals such as Carmel Art Fest (California), Prix Europa (Berlin), TV Fest Cannes, Stalker (Moscow), as well as in Buenos Aires, New York, Jerusalem, Balchik, Vienna, Sankt Pauli, and more.
He is the author of the publication The Secret of Film Time and recently published a work of fiction titled Pes v mäsiarstve.
Marek Kuboš
He graduated from the Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava, Department of Documentary Arts, with a specialization in Directing and Cinematography of Documentary Films. He belongs to the so-called “Generation ’90,” a distinguished group of filmmakers who studied at the academy during the 1990s.
His documentary work has earned him numerous awards both in Slovakia and internationally. Notable films include Cesta fotografa, Hlas 98, Žel. St. II. tr. – Kraľovany, Taká malá propaganda, and Posledný autoportrét. Among his accolades are the IGRIC Prize 1996 for Screenplay and Direction, the Main Prize for Student Films in the “On the Road” category at ART Film, the “Golden Rail” Grand Prize at the International Festival of Railway Films in Paris, Special Recognition at MEZI MOŘI – MFDF Jihlava, the Sun in a Net Award (Slovak National Film Award) for Best Documentary, the Special Jury Prize at Art Film Fest Košice, and ELBE DOCK – Best Central European Documentary Debut.
He has collaborated on numerous television programs and documentary productions with Slovak broadcasters. His work also spans commercials and music videos with renowned musical groups.
In addition, he brings extensive experience in amateur filmmaking, serving as a jury member for various film competitions.
Michal Vrbňák
He graduated from the Faculty of Education in Nitra and later from the Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava, specializing in Film Editing. He works professionally as a film and television editor and has had a long-standing career at Slovak Television, where he edited artistic trailers, documentaries, children’s and youth programs, as well as specialized journalistic content, and also contributed to live broadcast editing.
He has worked externally on independent documentaries and television programs for Markíza and Joj TV, where he helped develop the format for the highly successful show Na Chalupe and served as its editor for many years.
He has been actively involved in the amateur film scene since 2001, initially as a methodologist in visual arts, film, and photography, and later as a jury member for amateur competitions and a lecturer in film workshops focused on editing.
Currently, he is engaged in a project to digitize the national heritage at the Slovak Film Institute while continuing external work in film and picture editing.