Last seen during last year’s HollyShorts Film Festival, Slovakia’s most successful short film is back with us, this time with a much wider audience and heaps of praise. Written and directed by Erik Jasaň, the film is an unflinching look at the role of a “professional parent” in Slovakia, an occupation that serves most similarly to a foster family in American terms.
The film stars Ela Lehotská as Ingrid, a single mother doing anything and everything to take care of her daughter Martinka (Klára Sviteková) and her grandmother (Oľga Solárová). Taking odd jobs anywhere from working as a cashier at a small shop to doing sex work, Ingrid is desperate to keep her and her family’s heads above water, including the risky proposition of becoming a caregiver to a child who has been separated from their parents. That’s where Samantha (Mariana Kroková) comes in, with the young girl being the only single option for Ingrid to take on. Being Roma, Samantha’s life is already a challenge, with the stigma of her heritage working against her at every turn in Slovakian culture. The inherent discrimination of the Roma people has been a topic of controversy for quite some time, and the blatant and vocal disregard for Romani people is highly visible in the film. Despite wanting to take on this role to keep her family out of poverty, Ingrid is not subtle about her feelings towards Samantha, even as she’s tasked with being her caregiver full-time. It’s a brutal and honest look into the way discrimination and prejudice can shape culture, permeating every facet of society, even in the privacy of home.
Jasaň doesn’t pull any punches in the film, bringing forth long, difficult scenes that linger on the struggles of Ingrid, her own biases and behaviors, as well as the stigma put towards Roma people by those around her. The only exception is Martinka, whose young innocence has yet to be tarnished by the inherent judgement of others, offering to share toys, play and spend time with Samantha, only to be reprimanded by her mother for doing so.
This subject is one that is not entirely unique, as many of those who have experienced this type of welfare system can attest, but this specific method and specific stigma is one that very few will have seen in their lives previously. Given the significant, generational prejudice that occurs in Slovakia on this subject, it’s refreshing to see Jasaň put it so nakedly on display. With Ingrid’s need for financial stability clashing with her own ingrained discrimination, the two come to a head in a significant moment at the end of the film, leaving the viewer to sit in this tense, difficult moment as the film comes to a close.
Overall, it’s no wonder that this film is getting so much attention, as it’s quickly become one of the most impactful pieces of work from this part of the world. Jasaň does an excellent job telling the story, taking long, difficult looks at both this individual story as well as the greater context, the nearly quarter-hour piece only having a few scenes, instead lingering on the bigger moments to really let them sink in. The cast is also excellent, with Lehotská leading the charge, presenting a complex, difficult character whose life is full of struggle and survival by any means necessary. Both child actors play their parts well too, their contrast really driving home the generational divide in the way they are treated and the way they react to that treatment. Erik Jasaň and all involved deserve congratulations for putting together such a powerful piece of filmmaking, with it being no surprise that the film is only gaining more and more steam as time goes on.
Here to tell us more about the film is writer/director Erik Jasaň, who was kind enough to take the time out to answer a few questions. A big thanks to Erik for taking the time to talk to us!
What was the inspiration for this film?
I grew up in a household with two Roma children, as my sister became a professional parent. Around 2015, at the same time my sister started working as a professional parent – father, a horrifying event shook Slovakia: the murder of a one-year-old Roma girl by her professional foster father. The autopsy revealed that the child could not have caused the injuries herself – she had bruises on her head, internal bleeding, and torn intestines. This event affected not only my family, but Slovak society as a whole.
The tragedy raised questions about the system of professional foster parenting. In Slovakia, it is paid work – professional foster parents take care of children in their own households and receive a monthly salary for it. The majority of children who enter professional foster families are of Roma origin. In eastern Slovakia, where economic hardship has persisted for a long time, becoming a professional foster parent often meant a way out of financial difficulties. But when people with hidden racist tendencies enter the system, it can end in disaster.
The film is not only about professional foster care, but also about moral choices within a system that offers few alternatives. It is a story that reveals how society actually works, showing that people who think they are not racist often expose their prejudices in everyday life. And on the contrary, people who think of themselves as racists and refuse to help Roma often turn out to be the ones with the biggest hearts. The film is also about looking in the mirror – about facing the truth within ourselves. The film also reflects on how inflation and poverty push families into situations where morality becomes a luxury. It is a sad and cruel reality, not only in Slovakia.
Did you run into any major issues while making this piece?
We filmed in a one shot–one shot style. It required an enormous amount of concentration from every department of the crew. Some scenes we shot up to 30 times, and in the final cut, together with the editor Catalin Cristutiu, we ended up using the very first take. I knew it would be a demanding shoot, so I organized a pre-shoot — filming with key crew members and stand-ins (acting students). We tested the scenes, edited them, and after watching the final pre-shoot cut, we removed some scenes from the script that didn’t feel essential for a short film. Later, I had a 3-day acting rehearsal with the cast, mainly because of the children — I realized we needed to build a friendly and trusting relationship so we could film such emotionally challenging scenes.
During shooting, it was difficult to keep the children in their naturally playful mindset — after a while, the child actors became tired and started acting mechanically, technically. In such moments, I tried to invent something new for them within the scene to reignite their emotional energy and keep it genuine rather than mechanical.
Every day, after 12 or more hours of filming, I reviewed the footage and selected the best takes. But I noticed that sometimes the child actors accidentally looked into the camera, so one day I asked production to adjust the shooting schedule so we could re-film one scene.
Otherwise, I really enjoyed the shoot — and so did the children. Little Samantha (Marianna Kroková) wanted to shout ACTION and CUT, so I sat her in the director’s chair. But when she yelled STOP! in her sweet little girl’s voice, the crew got confused — unsure if they should really stop rolling.
If I could criticize anything about the production, it would be the lack of chocolate on set. I don’t drink coffee, but I have to eat chocolate — lots of it, it helps me think. But since we had kids on set, who also love chocolate, I had to share… oh well.
Has there been any pushback, given the difficult subject matter?
Yes, there was — I admit it. But it’s important to note that the situation around professional foster parenting in 2015, when the film is set, was different from how it is today. Still, that didn’t stop some genuine professional parents from being upset even before seeing the film. My story, however, takes place in 2015, when I decided to explore this topic through film. In eastern Slovakia, where I come from, unemployment in some remote districts was higher than twenty percent, meaning every fifth person had no job. In Slovakia in general, there is a strong stigma against people of Roma origin, and most children from orphanages are Roma. Around that time, a rumor began spreading in one eastern Slovak village that professional parenting was “a good job.” Suddenly, people from poorer regions could have stable employment. Unfortunately, some of them also held racist views — and yet became professional parents of Roma children. And that can lead to disaster.
I believe that professional parents who were not offended by this topic are the ones doing their work sincerely — they have no guilty conscience, and such social criticism doesn’t disturb them. This was confirmed to me during screenings in Slovakia, when after one showing, a professional parent approached me and said: “You’re right, but it’s a painful truth, and it’s hard to talk about, write about, and it must have been hard to film too.” I consider it a victory that this film was accepted by Slovak society despite its heavy subject matter — that, to me, is a real success. The film truly needs to be seen so that people can form their own opinion. I’d like to conclude this answer by expressing my deep respect for all professional parents who do this job out of love.
How has it been to see this film continue to gain momentum as you’ve continued to bring it to festivals?
Amazing! I’m very happy that I’ve been able to screen the film on every continent of the world — except Antarctica. I focused on getting it into as many Oscar-qualifying festivals as possible, and I’m proud to say we now have nine official selections — at least one on every continent — which makes me really happy. I aimed to tell a local story in a way that would be universally understood.
What’s coming up next for you?
The film will be screened at several upcoming festivals that I plan to attend in person: the British Urban Film Festival in London, Morocco Shorts, and Certamen Internacional de Cortos de Soria in Spain. After that, I’ll focus on selling the film to VOD platforms. I’ve also received development funding for my new film project, which I’m currently working on. I’m building an office and studio for my film production company and have upcoming duties related to organizing the Prague Film Festival and the Shorts Wrap platform. And of course, I’ll definitely come to HollyShorts London.
That’ll do it for us, but be on the lookout for more regarding this film and so many others, only on BitPix.
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