Weekend: Figure-skating legend to get a film

This week, we're writing about a farm run by a Dutch couple and a Slovak-US war photographer. We also stir in several weekend events.

Film to tell Nepela’s bittersweet story

The fate of the legendary Slovak figure skater Ondrej Nepela has appealed to director and producer Jakub Červenka so much that he is going to make a feature film about him.

“I decided to make the film about the now almost forgotten figure skater because of his timeless life story, including the legacy he left behind and which is also relevant to the people of the 21st century. It is a struggle for personal freedom and the possibility of self-realisation,” revealed Červenka, as quoted by the SITA newswire.

The film, entitled “Nepela: The Road to Freedom”, is set to capture the critical 24 hours of Ondrej Nepela’s life. Filming is scheduled to begin at the end of 2023, and the film is expected to hit cinemas in 2024.

Ondrej Nepela won gold at the 1972 Winter Olympics in Sapporo, Japan. (source: TASR - František Iván)

The production is also said to capture all the key moments that explain to the audience why in the grainy shots from the 1973 World Figure Skating Championships, Nepela is not happy about the title of world champion, even though it was his triumph of life.

In 1973, Nepela found himself in a difficult situation. The year before, the Olympics took place in Sapporo, Japan, and he received a promise from Czechoslovak communist officials that if he won Olympic gold, he would be able to leave the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic and go to the United States to perform in his dream ice show. He returned from Japan with a gold medal, but he was not allowed to travel to the USA. His next fate was conditioned by the “obligation” to win the 1973 World Championships in Bratislava.

“He became a bird trapped in a double cage - one was the then regime and the other was his own sexual orientation,” said Červenka. Homosexuality was considered a sexual deviation at the time.

Nepela’s motivation to leave Czechoslovakia was thus also related to his desire for a free love life.

Other developments from this week:

• Radio Devín, a public radio station focusing on culture and arts, marks 50 years since its first broadcast on September 4, 1972.

• The National Opera of Ukraine’s ballet section will perform in three Slovak cities: Košice on June 12, Piešťany on June 24, and Banská Bystrica on June 29.

• Slovak opera globetrotters, soprano Slávka Zámečníková and bass Peter Kellner, will perform in Bratislava on June 20.

• The International Festival of Animation, Fest Anča, will take place in Žilina from June 30 to July 3. This year, the festival will focus on women in animation.

"Dohviezdny večer" (Christmas Eve), a collection of 25 Christmas short stories illustrated by Helga Pavelková and Peter Ličko, has been named Slovakia's most beautiful book by Bibiana, a children's art gallery in Bratislava. (source: Litcentrum)

• Slovak singer Karin Ann will be the opening act during British superstar Yungblud’s July shows in Australia. Recently, she has released her new single “poison apple”.

• Disney Plus will arrive in Slovakia next week. Will it be cheaper than Netflix?

• Východná Festival, the largest and the oldest folk music festival in Slovakia, will take place from June 29 to July 3, welcoming ensembles also from Ukraine, Serbia, Czechia, Bulgaria, and Hungary.

TRAVEL

Couple swaps Dutch flower fields for Slovak nature

Yvon and Sabine van der Laan left Dutch flower fields, quit their jobs, and relocated to the Slovak countryside to start a farm, which both Slovak and Dutch people are in love with.

“Living with nature and the seasons is one of the reasons we wanted to move to the countryside,” explains Sabine as she sits down on a bench next to Yvon and their two dogs, Beau, and Saar.

Their farm is just outside Modrý Kameň, one of the least populated towns in the country being home to just 1,526 people.

A Dutch couple's farm in Modrý Kameň, central Slovakia. (source: Sabine van der Laan)

Other travel stories

• Church: An earthquake in 1906 damaged the dilapidated church in Prietrž, western Slovakia.

• Canoeing: Wild water enthusiasts can now canoe in the High Tatras. Strict rules, however, apply.

• Bike bus: On June 11, a bike bus will set out from Lučenec to the Hungarian community of Veröce and back. From the settlement, cyclists can bike to Budapest.

BRATISLAVA

Plan for a Slovak emigration museum

Slovakia should build a museum that would tell the story of Slovak emigration. The new cultural institution should open in 2029 in Bratislava.

The museum is said to become another branch of the national museum, and it should be supported with €1 million every year after its construction is completed.

The Culture Ministry, the Office for Slovaks Living Abroad, Bratislava City Hall and its Metropolitan Institute will work on the project together. The Office has said it also considers building multifunctional centres for the activities of Slovaks living abroad to be important.

Memorial of the Slovak emigration in the Janko Kráľ Park in Petržalka, Bratislava, on July 4, 2013. (source: TASR – Štefan Puškáš)

Bratislava in short:

• Dove of Peace, a monument in Petržalka, should undergo renovation.

• One of the oldest monuments in the capital, the Water Tower, will get a new design.

• Outdoor swimming pools in the capital are going to reopen on Saturday. These are: Tehelné pole, Matadorka, Rosnička, Delfín, Krasňany, Rača, Lamač, and Areál zdravia Zlaté piesky. Mičurin will reopen on July 1.

• The Embassy of Ukraine in Slovakia has donated more than 800 books for children and adults to the Old Town Library.

• LOVESTREAM, a music festival, will take place in Bratislava during the weekend. Zara Larsson, Dua Lipa, and Red Hot Chili Peppers are the biggest stars of the festival.

WEEKEND READ

On to becoming a war photographer

Slovak-US photographer Nadezda Tavodova Tezgor and a Ukrainian deputy commander in Kharkiv, eastern Ukraine. (source: Nadezda Tavodova Tezgor)

In her early days, Nadezda Tavodova Tezgor, 43, might have become a ballet dancer had a ballet teacher not told her that she should not dance due to scoliosis. Instead, she pursued photography – another passion of hers, working her way up to become a war photographer and correspondent.

Ukraine is the first country in war that Tavodova Tezgor has visited.

After several weeks in Kyiv and Kharkiv, she is about to leave Ukraine, helping a Ukrainian teenager get to Poland, and possibly to the USA.

Two more weekend reads:

• Slovak astronomers help construct the European Solar Telescope.

• Paleontologist Andrej Čerňanský names reptiles after well-known figures from Slovak history.

FINAL RECOMMENDATIONS TO CONSIDER

Radio: On June 12, the Day of Rusyns, Radio Patria, a public radio station which is devoted to the culture of minorities, will broadcast a concert celebrating singer Mária Čokynová’s legacy. She is known for her passion for Rusyn folk songs. The broadcast will start at 20:00.

Event (s): A literary walking tour in Hlohovec on June 11 will explore the history of the town and listen to passages from different works of literature tied to Hlohovec. In Pezinok, the Pottery Market will be held across the weekend on the main street.

Book: In “Boat Number Five”, written by Monika Kompaníková and translated by Janet Livingstone, teenager Jarka lives in post-communist Bratislava,where she abducts twin babies one day.

"Boat Number Five" is a book written by Slovak writer Monika Kompaníková. (source: Slovakliterature.com)

Documentary: US director Matt Sarnecki’s documentary “The Killing of a Journalist” recounts the story of the 2018 murders of Slovak journalist Ján Kuciak and his fiancée Martina Kušnírová. The European premiere of the documentary will take place at Karlovy Vary International Film Festival in early July.

That’s it for this week. Have a great weekend! - Peter

Do you have any tips? You can reach Peter at peter.dlhopolec@spectator.sk