Julian

A tender drama about a lesbian couple determined to celebrate their love by marrying in every country where it’s legal. A confident debut produced under the guidance of Lukas Dhont.

How do you make your first feature film when you don’t have a major production company or your dream budget behind you? As part of the accompanying program of the European Film Days festival, we invite you to a discussion with young filmmakers from the Association of Directors, Screenwriters, and Dramaturgs (ARAS). We’ll follow up on the screening of the film Julian (dir. Cato Kusters) and focus on the reality of Czech-Slovak independent film.

For emerging filmmakers, the journey from the initial idea to theatrical distribution is often a struggle against both budget and time constraints. What does the development and production of low-budget films—made “on their own”—look like? Is it possible to maintain an authorial vision under the pressure of financial limitations? And how crucial is the role of state support versus the sheer enthusiasm of the crew?

The guests will share their recent experiences from filming acclaimed debuts that likely would never have been made without the filmmakers’ enormous personal commitment. They will be Katarína Gramatová (Promisse, I'll Be Fine), Martin Pavol Repka (From March to May), and Tomasz Wiński (The Limits of Love).

The discussion will be moderated by film critic Martin Pleštil.