Cinema for me is…
Slovak Republic – Gregor Petrikovič from Europa Cinemas on Vimeo.
Gregor in 25 frames
1. Describe yourself in ten words
Philosophy student who loves analyzing films and finding their deeper meaning.
2. What are your 3 best qualities and your 3 worst habits?
3 best qualities: Honest, creative, adventurous
3 worst habits: Melancholic, not punctual, stubborn.
3. What is your dream job?
Film Director, Cinematographer.
4. What do you like most about your country?
Old traditions and rich cultural heritage.
5. What is your favourite dish in your country?
‘Lokše s Kackou’ – potato flat bread filled with roast duck.
6. What is the word or the expression in your native language that you like the most and what does it mean?
-‘Ako sa do hory volá, tak sa z hory ozýva’ = ‘The way you shout at the mountain, that’s what you’re gonna hear back’ (echo…). It simply means, that the way you behave and act in the world, the world will get back to you in the same way. It’s something like an Eastern European understanding of ‘karma’ I guess.
7. What European capital have you visited lately?
This summer I was inter-railing so I visited: Amsterdam, Berlin, Prague, Vienna, Budapest, Ljubljana, Zagreb.
8. Other than your own, which European country would you love to live in?
The Netherlands.
9. What does Europe mean to you?
An incredibly diverse mix of countries, nature and people from all of which there is something to learn.
10. What are the European values that you share?
Unity and open-mindedness.
11. What film made you fall in love with cinema?
Requiem for a Dream by Darren Aronofsky (2000).
12. What is your favourite cinema theatre and what do you like about it?
It is probably BFI Southbank where I used to go quite often during my gap year. They screen an immense selection of contemporary and classic films and often hold various film festivals there, as well as thematic screenings, previews and discussions with filmmakers.
13. Where do you like to watch movies and on which platform (DVD, online, cinema, mobile phone, etc.)?
When commuting to university you can find me watching a film on my phone, when travelling long distances I usually use my laptop. Nevertheless, my favourite platform for sure is a cinema. For me, it is a place where every film should be watched if one strives to fully ‘get into the plot’ and perceive every aspect of it.
14. Who is your movie hero?
Although she isn’t really a hero in a traditional sense, I would to say Amelie (2000). Her quirky character is portrayed in such a unique way and although she isn’t an obvious heroine, she still manages to show off positive attributes and encourages the viewer to see her as a role model.
15. If you were a movie director which one would you like to be?
Darren Aronofsky.
16. Briefly describe your favourite scene
Her by Spike Jonze (2013): In the final scene, Theodore is sitting in the darkness, showing his isolation without his computer software ‘Samantha’, there anymore – it portrays how although she was never there and was only ever a digital concept, he had become emotionally attached to her. The darkness combined with the city-lights in the background of the scene depicts his overwhelming loneliness, that in a city full of people, he is still alone. This scene is an exposure of how technology has taken over modern life and the danger of losing out on human contact and reality itself.
17. What are the 5 best European films you have seen in the last year?
The Lobster (Yorgos Lanthimos, 2015) GR
Victoria (Sebastian Schipper, 2015) DE
Amelie (Jean-Pierre Jeunet, 2001) FR
Searching for Sugar Man (Malik Bendjelloul, 2012) SE
Ida (Pawel Pawlikowski, 2013) PL.
18. Which is the film character that you most identify with?
Theodore Twombly (Her, 2013).
19. Your favourite soundtrack or song?
– Interstellar soundtrack – I really like when the production method matches the purpose of the final piece and the fact that the composer spent several months in isolation to understand that a feeling and used it in the songs gives the film an extra depth.
20. If you had to live in a movie, which one would you like it to be?
The Game by David Fincher (1997)
21. Your life becomes a bio-pic. Who plays the role of you?
I wish it was Anton Yelchin.
22. Which talent would you most like to have?
Definitely drawing, in that case I would be able to sketch all the visuals and ideas that I have in my head which otherwise I have to describe in words.
23. What is your most treasured possession?
– My journal and camera.
24. What do you consider your greatest achievement?
Having my short film selected for The Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition at the age of 18 and getting my fine art photography published in magazines.
25. What is your motto?
Not sure if I really have one, if it had to be one it’d be something like in the Silver Linings Playbook – “excelsior”: Taking all the negativity and bad stuff and turning it into something positive.