The team from "Ms. Marvel" pose with their awards for outstanding motion design during night one of the Creative Arts Emmy Awards. Slovak Dávid Štumpf is pictured third from the right. (source: AP/TASR)
Every week The Slovak Spectator brings you a selection of three short stories from across Slovakia in which pessimism and negativity are absent.
Slovak animator wins an Emmy
Animator, illustrator and director Dávid Štumpf, a native of Komárno in southern Slovakia, won the prestigious Emmy Award, granted by the US Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, for Outstanding Motion Design in the American television miniseries Ms. Marvel.
“Basically, it’s a live action series about a superheroine, but it also has animated passages,” 33-year-old Štumpf said, as quoted by the TVnoviny.sk website. “Two worlds are outlined there. The inner world of the main character, which is animated, and reality, which is performed. Our team worked on the animated passages.”
A graduate of the Academy of Performing Arts (VŠMU) in Bratislava and the Film and TV School of Academy of Performing Arts (FAMU) in Prague, he has worked on several short films that have been screened at international film festivals, and has received several awards both in Slovakia and abroad. Štumpf acknowledged that the offer to work on Ms. Marvel was the first commercial and foreign offer he had received.
The 75th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards were presented on January 6 and 7, 2024.
Awards for 'Slovak Billie Eilish'
Karin Ann comes from Čadca, northern Slovakia. (source: Facebook)
Slovak singer Karin Ann (21), who has been compared to Billie Eilish on several occasions, achieved several successes abroad at the end of 2023.
Her video clips were awarded at several festivals in the US and Cannes in France, the Hudba.zoznam.sk website reported.
The video for her song A Stranger with My Face, directed by Olivia Mitchell and Kerry Furrh attracted the most awards. Among others, it won the Best Music Video category at the New York Tri-State Film Festival in November 2023, and the Best Music Video category at the Top Shorts in October 2023.
It was also praised by the jury at the City Of Angels Women’s Film Festival in Los Angeles, and Indie Shorts Awards in Cannes.
Her other video, If I fall for you, was also praised.
Slovak figure skater features in official championship trailer
Adam Hagara performing his short programme at the ISU European Figure Skating Championships 2024. (source: AP/TASR)
The official trailer for the ISU European Figure Skating Championships 2024, taking place between January 10 and 14 in Kaunas, Lithuania, features young Slovak figure skater Adam Hagara.
In the ISU World Standings for the current season, the 17-year-old Slovak ranks 26th and he is making a mark on the international scene. He became the first Slovak to qualify for the final event of the Junior Grand Prix, and was invited to the exhibition despite placing third (usually, only the winners from the Junior category are invited, the Sportnet.sk website reports).
Hagara is currently 11th after the January 10 short programme, with 74.97 points. His free skating ride will take place this evening (Friday, January 12). Before the championship started, he spoke about his dream of making it to the top 10.
Five feel-good stories published by The Slovak Spectator to read:
The winners of the upcoming World Cup ski races at the Jasná resort will take home a specially designed crown inspired by the traditional folk costumes of villages in the Liptov region, where Jasná is located.
Sauna lovers have a wide choice of places where they can enjoy a sauna in Bratislava. There are outdoor saunas in a shipping container or a wooden barrel, as well as luxurious saunas, for example in a former dungeon.
The first two months in Slovakia were really hard for Ukrainian Iryna Zinchenko. But winter came, and a chain of events filled the life of her family with real miracles.
In Slovak, you don’t have a sore throat but the throat pains you. For a remedy, try a drink with bacon grease, caramel, and even slivovica, writes Matthew J. Reynolds.
So-called “youngtimers” – vehicles that are 20 to 29 years old – are now officially considered to be younger historic vehicles in Slovakia.
Political meme of the week
Bag carrier. (source: Zomri.online)
This week's meme appeared on a banner held aloft during a protest in Bratislava on January 11, 2024. It was the latest in a series of public demonstrations against the government, at which people expressed their disagreement at several changes planned by the ruling coalition such as the cancellation of the Special Prosecutor’s Office and changes to the criminal code that would reduce sentences for financial crimes like corruption. The phrase refers to the Slovak expression “podrž taška” (literally, “hold the bag”) which in this context means "bag carrier" – an unimportant or servile minion performing a task for the boss. The target of the jibe was Hlas party leader Peter Pellegrini, whose decision to join the coalition and subsequent actions as to Speaker of Parliament have enabled the government's policies, instigated by Smer party leader and current prime minister Robert Fico .
You can send me your tips on good news stories about Slovakia or funny memes at radka.minarechova@spectator.sk. Thank you!
