The Visegrad Fund announced its Project of the Year on the occasion of the twenty-fourth anniversary of its founding.

The Fund acknowledges the efforts of grantees who contribute to improving Visegrad cooperation. The Project of the Year 2023 award goes to the Slovak project called  Azyl Shorts. We were delighted to meet the award winners Daniela Ondríková and Viliam Štrelinger in person and present them with a diploma and an award of €2,500 during a special ceremony.

Azyl Shorts 2023 presented the best of short films from the V4 countries and the whole world. The highlight of the festival is the film industry project FRIENDSHIP, which brings together Visegrad and Ukrainian students and deepens the relationships between filmmakers. The program includes rich cultural and educational experiences led by Visegrad experts, artists and film professionals. “It is an honor for us to receive this award. Friendship combines extensive experience of our team in fields of filmmaking, psychology and education. Workshop Friendship is designed with strategic networking elements and, importantly, aspects of PCA (Person-Centered Approach) psychology. We create a safe environment for building relationships that is the cornerstone of friendship concept. We would like to thank the Visegrad Fund for its important support in the implementation of this project,” says Viliam Štrelinger from Azyl Production.

The project was realized by the Slovak company Azyl Production, a producer of short films, in cooperation with the Czech company Kruton, the Polish cultural centre Bialystok, the Hungarian company MER-KEL Film and the Ukrainian company KISFF Films and other partners.

You can watch the video to catch some filmmakers spirit here.