Action is the best defense

SYNOPSIS

Set on the backdrop of a seemingly unassuming dispute between the citizens of three small villages in Eastern Slovakia and a big American oil company, we observe how the voice of an individual transforms from a droll yelp to a fundamental attitude towards life. The earth is full of treasures, yet everyone sees values in something else. For the locals, true wealth lies in simple cohabitation with the earth, for investors it lies hundreds of meters below it. The locals are bound by the desire to protect their sanctuary, the investors want to drill for oil. What will the outcome of this clash be and who will reap what?

TEAM

Story: Peter Sabo, Dominik Jursa
Script and directed by: Dominik Jursa
Cinematography: Dominik Jursa, Maxim Kľujev, Michal Furda, Peter Važan,  
Boris Gomolčák, Martin Tokár, Radka Šišuláková, Jozef Čábo, Pavol Wolf
Music: Martin Barabáš
Sound on set: Tomáš Košjar, Adam Kuchta, Martin Dzurňák, Michal Paluga
Editing: Lucia Kopáčková
Sound mix: Alexander Bori
Dramaturgy: Ingrid Mayerová, Vlasta Ruppeldtová
Producer: Barbara Janišová Feglová / HITCHHIKER Cinema
Co-producers: Filip Fleischer / FLEISCHER Production,
Soňa Komová / Rozhlas a televízia Slovenska

Featured in the film: Roland Noga, Vladimír Ferko, Stanislav Tomko, Stanislav Benada, Marianna Varjanová, Juraj Lukáč, Jarka Polčová, Katarína Polčová, Viliam Bartuš, Ľubo Leško, Slavomír Senk, Terezka Nogová, LauraTomková, Bernd Damish, Fred Roland, Daniel Hübner, Ján Gombita, Miroslav Gombita, Ladislav Andrejco, Anna Zemanová, Pavol Varjan, Anna Morozová a ďalší

DIRECTOR

DOMINIK JURSA, director (* 1988)

Dominik graduated from the Academy of Performing Arts’ Documentary Film Department, majoring in Direction. It was here that his interest in socially charged themes crystalized. His films deal with ecology, nationalism, a citizen’s society and activism. He works as a freelance director and has collaborated on numerous television projects and documentary cycles: (Expremiéri: Vladimír Mečiar / Ex-prime ministers: Vladimír Mečiar,  Biele vrany a hrdinovia medzi nam: Na hranici / Unsung Heroes: On the Border)

DIRECTOR’S STATEMENTS

„My film does not want to investigate the truth of one side or the other. I tried to depict the fates of people who found themselves in a situation, where their own internal convictions made them take action.“

„The conflict,  which is ultimately more about principles than about the survey itself, is transferred unto the viewer. My curiosity was not directed towards investigating the possible ecological effects on the environment, but towards the study of people.“

„Personally, I am very happy that I live in a society where an individual with enough determination and faith in his own truth, has the chance to succeed in an unequal battle. I am glad that society is able to bloom even in the most forgotten corners of our country. I am less pleased by the way in which some Slovak bureaus operate. From my point of view, a great chunk of the blame for culminating the situation lies on their shoulders and in the end, both parties of the dispute paid for it.“