LACO KABOŠ
finished his studies at the Film and Television School of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (FAMU) in 1980, and that same year he made his debut with the film Children Looking at Us. After directing the social documentaries Starina and Carnival in Sebechleby in 1983, the communist government prohibited him from continuing his work due to the critical tone of his films.
Following the Velvet Revolution, he became chief dramaturg at Studio VIDEO FILM – Short Film, within Slovak film production. In 1993, together with his wife, he founded the production company MEDIA FILM in Slovakia, focusing on cinematographic projects. Over the years, he directed dozens of documentaries for television and cinematic distribution, including The Man Who Changed Shanghai, All My Children, Colors of Sand, The Band, and Architect of Brutal Poetry.
He has received numerous accolades, such as the Crystal Wing Award, the Igric Award, the Slovak Film Critics’ Award, the FIPRESCI Journalist Award, and other festival honors both domestically and internationally (more at www.mediafilm.sk).
He has been devoted to photography since childhood, with his first works exhibited at the B-Club in Bratislava (1971–1973). Between 1998 and 2003, he specialized in speleophotography, capturing the beauty of Slovakia's UNESCO-protected caves in large-format slides. He published the photo book The Mysterious Beauty of Silence, dedicated to Demänovská Cave.
In recent years, he has worked in magazine and advertising photography. Since 2000, he has focused on photographing female nudes. His extensive series Dance of Day and Night was exhibited in Jihlava at the Gustav Mahler House gallery, and later at Woman, Eternal Inspiration in Beroun’s Dutch House gallery, alongside sculptor Jiří Vydra. In 2020, he was captivated by screen printing. He first presented his series ARCHETYPES in 2022 at Café Poetika in Banská Bystrica. The idea for the cycle came from my imagination and dreams, but it wouldn’t exist without nature. It created mysterious shapes that I easily finished…”
He currently works independently as a filmmaker and visual artist, continuing his authorial projects.
FROM THE FILMOGRAPHY
MODERN ARCHITECTURE IN SLOVAKIA (2008)
Modern Architecture in Slovakia explores the evolution of modern architecture over the tumultuous decades of the 20th century, reflecting key historical moments in the development of modern Slovakia.
The artistic lens of Dodo Simoncic presents architecture in a previously unseen form. Uniquely stylized long-form observational shots reveal the beauty of architectural works in a way not previously attempted.
It was the first documentary in Slovakia to be filmed and completed using HDTV technology.
Awards:
- IGRIC 2008 (Prize of the Slovak Film Union, Literary Fund, and Union of Slovak TV Filmmakers)
- Annual Award of the magazine Monuments and Museums (2009)
- Annual Award of the Review for Cultural Heritage (2009)
- Professor Architect Martin Kusý Award (2009), Slovak Architects Association
The story of architect Ladislav Hudec – the father of Asian skyscrapers in colonial Shanghai.
Awards & Screenings:
- Best Slovak Documentary, Slovak Film Critics
- Special Creative Prize, Slovak Literary Fund
- Documentary Edge Festival, New Zealand (2012)
- IFF Cinematic, Piešťany
- Mayor of Banská Bystrica Award (2010)
- Nominated for Crystal Wing Award – Person of the Year in Slovakia (2010)
- Cinema distribution in the Slovak Republic
A dramatic story of a pastor working in Roma settlements in eastern Slovakia.
Awards & Nominations:
- Silver Eye nomination, East Silver (Jihlava, 2013)
- Roma Spirit Award (2014), Tatra Bank Foundation Award (2014)
- Slovak national nomination for the European Film Academy Award
- IGRIC Special Creative Prize (2014), FIPRESCI Critics Award (2015)
- Second Prize, 30th International Catholic Film and Multimedia Festival, Niepokalanów (Poland)
- Record attendance: approx. 25,500 cinema viewers in 2014, third most visited documentary in Slovak film history
Screenings:
CineEast (Luxembourg), Krakow IFF, One World (Bratislava), Art Film Fest, Cinematik, Febiofest, Etnofilm, Finale Pilsen, Cieszyn, Bucharest V4+RO Conference, Czech Centre Sofia, MeCEFF Romania, HELLERAU Dresden, Week of Czech Film (Munich), Cran-Gevrier (France), ALIIFF (India), Czech & Slovak cinema distribution
CineEast (Luxembourg), Krakow IFF, One World (Bratislava), Art Film Fest, Cinematik, Febiofest, Etnofilm, Finale Pilsen, Cieszyn, Bucharest V4+RO Conference, Czech Centre Sofia, MeCEFF Romania, HELLERAU Dresden, Week of Czech Film (Munich), Cran-Gevrier (France), ALIIFF (India), Czech & Slovak cinema distribution
COLORS OF SAND (2015)
The story of a Slovak nurse caught in the war-torn Libya and immersed in the Muslim world.
Awards:
- Mayor’s Prize, Cinematik (2015)
- National nomination for the European Film Academy Award
- Crystal Wing 2016 (alongside The Man Who Changed Shanghai and All My Children)
Screenings:
Slovak Film Days (Munich), Arabisches Filmfestival (Tübingen), Festival Meeting (Brno), Kino na Granicy (Poland)
Cinema distribution in the Slovak Republic
Slovak Film Days (Munich), Arabisches Filmfestival (Tübingen), Festival Meeting (Brno), Kino na Granicy (Poland)
Cinema distribution in the Slovak Republic
A fragile story filled with tragicomic moments about a group of men from a poor Roma village in eastern Slovakia who set out to change their lives.
Screenings:
Warsaw IFF (main competition), Minsk IFF Listapad, One World Prague, Finale Plzen, Millennium Brussels, DOK.fest München, Around IFF Barcelona, Valletta FF Malta, Dok’n’Ritam Belgrade, Vukovar FF, Colours of Ostrava, Independent FilmFest Osnabrück, This Human World Vienna, FIPADOC Biarritz, Albertville Documentary & Literature Festival
Awards:
Warsaw IFF (main competition), Minsk IFF Listapad, One World Prague, Finale Plzen, Millennium Brussels, DOK.fest München, Around IFF Barcelona, Valletta FF Malta, Dok’n’Ritam Belgrade, Vukovar FF, Colours of Ostrava, Independent FilmFest Osnabrück, This Human World Vienna, FIPADOC Biarritz, Albertville Documentary & Literature Festival
Awards:
- Grand Prix, Dok’n’Ritam Belgrade
- Cinema distribution in Czech & Slovak Republics
The story of architect Hans Broos, a Carpathian German from Veľká Lomnica, Slovakia, who designed over 140 buildings in Brazil.
Screenings:
Cinematik (Slovakia), AFFR (Rotterdam), ADFF (Washington, Vancouver, Toronto), Master of Art FF (Sofia), FIFA (Montreal), ON ART Festival (Warsaw), CAMP (Czech Republic), Slovak Film Days (Munich), 3KINOFEST (Prague), ADAFF (Palm Springs), DA2 FF (Zagreb)
Cinematik (Slovakia), AFFR (Rotterdam), ADFF (Washington, Vancouver, Toronto), Master of Art FF (Sofia), FIFA (Montreal), ON ART Festival (Warsaw), CAMP (Czech Republic), Slovak Film Days (Munich), 3KINOFEST (Prague), ADAFF (Palm Springs), DA2 FF (Zagreb)
Awards:
- Professor Architect Martin Kusý Award (2023), Slovak Architects Association and Fine Arts Fund
- Cinema distribution in the Slovak Republic
Ladislav Kabos
Na brehu mora