Permanent Lights

Ivan Július Kovačevič / Slovakia / 1940 / Czech Premiere / 21 min.

synopsis

A genealogical documentary about the “great men” of a nation that supposedly “needs to be seen standing up for itself”.

This cultural film by I. J. Kovačević is a cinematic counterpart to the traditional patriarchal notion of the great men of the nation (Oomini Illustri), as the creators of History. Here, moreover, the “great story” of Slovak history is being written, so they are all (old) Slovaks! In addition to the national narrative, the film also tells the story of Slovakia’s modernization, albeit out of the context of the newly defunct Czechoslovakia. Despite its nationalistic diction, the film has a remarkable cinematic composition, making it a curiosity of its kind.

biography

Ivan Július Kovačevič (1909–1979)
The first, most exposed director of the company Nástup, editor of its weekly, the main compiler of the film From the Tatras to the Sea of Azov, after 1945/1948 he basically “burned out” on his collaboration. As early as in the 1930s, he worked as a publicist and propagandist, committed to Slovak film. After the war, he worked as a graphic designer for, among other things, art books of remarkable quality.