Cinema for me is…
Alica in 23 Frames
1. Describe yourself in ten words.
I am not superstitious… but I am a little stitious.
2. Your best quality? Your worst habit?
Naivety – for both.
3. Your dream job?
A filmmaker.
4. What do you like most about your country?
Bryndzové halušky.
5. Your favorite dish in your country?
See number 4.
6. Which word or phrase in your native language do you like the most and what does it mean?
Parazól – an umbrella.
7. What European capital have you visited lately?
Vilnius. Lithuania totally blew me away.
8. Other than your own, which European country would you love to live in?
(Southern) France. (But in a universe where I am fluent in French.)
9. What does Europe mean to you? 3 values.
Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité.
10. What film made you fall in love with cinema?
Swiss Army Man (Daniel Kwan / Daniel Scheinert, 2016, US). The whole premise is so bizarre I can’t believe this movie actually exists. Nonetheless, I find it to be a perfect example of thinking outside the box in contemporary cinema.
11. Your favorite film theatre? What do you like about it?
Divadlo Stoka in Bratislava. They do a lot of experimental pieces, and they don’t take themselves too seriously, which is a quality I appreciate in every art form.
12. Who is your movie hero?
Oliver Tate from Submarine (Richard Ayoade, 2010, GB).
13. Which movie director would you like to be?
Miloš Forman.
14. Briefly describe your favorite scene.
The dinner scene in The Phantom of Liberty (Luis Bunuel, 1974, FR). A small group of people sit around a table, but instead of eating, they take their pants off and sit on toilets. They talk about politics and other state-of-the-art matters, until one gentleman excuses himself. He goes into a small, toilet-like room, where he sits on a chair and takes out a plate of food to eat in private.
15. What are the 3 best European films you have seen in the last year?
Der Himmel über Berlin / Wings of desire (Wim Wenders, 1987, DE)
L’homme fidèle (Louis Garrel, 2018, FR)
La vie de bohème (Aki Kaurismaki, 1992, FI).
16. Which film character do you most identify with?
Ladybird from Lady Bird (Greta Gerwig, 2017, US).
17. Your favorite soundtrack or song?
Alan Price’s soundtrack to Linday Anderson’s O Lucky Man! (1973, GB) is a hidden masterpiece.
18. If you had to live in a movie, which one would you like it to be?
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (John Hughes, 1986, US) but only on the days off.
19. Your life becomes a bio-pic. Who plays the role of you?
Phoebe-Waller Bridge.
20. Which talent would you most like to have?
Not overcooking every meal I prepare.
21. What is your most treasured possession?
An authentic Icelandic sweather, which cost me a fortune but kept me warm during the so-called summer I spent there.
22. What do you consider your greatest achievement?
Trusting my gut when choosing what to study.
23. What is your motto?
“Dear Zooey, I feel like we’re both crooked cripples, so at least let’s be nice and kind to one another” (J.D.Salinger, Franny and Zooey)