THE COMMUNE
Jakub Julény
HITCHHIKER CINEMA (Slovakia)
They became outsiders of their own free will, so that they could live freely on the margins of society and become creators of their own selves.
The desire for freedom during the normalization in Czechoslovakia led to the group of individuals who who professed a deep inclination towards the the principles of the underground movement. After many years they are unable to face their mutual suspicions of betrayal in the form of cooperation with the state-security police. Throughout their story drifts the memory of their tragically departed guru, philosopher and poet, MARCEL STRÝKO. In an effort to come to terms with the past, an old companion from Prague organises a revival concert in a Gothic cathedral. Will these freethinking members reach a truce? Will their reunion prompt a long-awaited moment of repentance and forgiveness?
Jakub Julény
JAKUB graduated from the Documentary Film Making under Professor Dušan Hanák in the Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava, Slovakia in 2011. Later he had participated on several short documentaries and tv series. He works as a freelance journalist and photographer for independent projects and media. He focuses on issues of temporary history and the continuity of the past. Occasionally he is involved in civil rights and cultural activism. The Commune is his feature length film debut.
Director’s statement
I've been always fascinated by the phenomenon of hippies which exists in various ways in all cultures. I found the group of what we could call underground in city of Košice. There was nothing like this in the rest of Slovakia during the years of normalization. Although, there was just ten people involved, the regime felt threatened. Stepwise secret police got few common informers among them. I wondered why totalitarian regime considered bunge of kids banging on the dishes a dangerous enemy. At first I was fascinated by the unique sound of their music, but then I recognized that there is something deeper behind. So I rather tried to capture those consequences of activities of secret police within the group during what they call times of our lives nowadays. I found out that the operation of secret police was fatal in terms of friendships, marriages and ordinary life. Most of the protagonists live on the edge of society, suffering from existential needs and living in solitude.
Where are we at?
Total Budget: 180.000,00 EUR
Financing in place: 150.000,00 EUR
Sales Agent: none
Territories available: World
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Production Company profile
HITCHHIKER CINEMA is an independent film production company founded in 2012 by the producer Barbara Janišová Feglová. It focuses on developing art house projects, tv series and documentaries reflecting social and cultural issues in the Central European region. The documentary feature A Hole in the Head (Diera v hlave - www.aholeintheheadfilm.com) by director Robert Kirchhoff was screened at many festivals and won the Slovak national film award The Sun in the Net (Slnko v sieti) in the category of Best documentary feature.
info@hitchhikercinema.sk