"The Unburied Dead" - a Central European co-production
11.3.2005 - Martina Grenova

Slovak cinemas have a new title on the big-screen. Not a Hollywood blockbuster but a Hungarian film shot as a Central European co-production. Hungarian, Slovak and Polish filmmakers got together to film the story of Imre Nagy, the leader of the 1956 Hungarian anti-Soviet revolution. It's been a surprise success since it was released in Budapest last October - being seen by over 100,000 people when the expectation was for only about 10,000. On March 10th it opened in the Slovak capital Bratislava with humble expectations.

"I don't see a problem that a Hungarian hero is being played by a Polish actor. In the context of East Europe, everything that was happening was interconnected. Imre Nagy is our common hero. The best mix of all local personalities. It is a paradox that our Polish hero has 25 honorary doctoral degrees plus the Nobel Prize and the Hungarian was hung."

The actor, Jan Nowiczki, speaking ahead of the Slovak premiere. It was shot in an interlinked central European co-production. The Slovak producer covered 20% of the overall expenses. Twenty percent might seem like a little, nevertheless Marta Meszaros was highly praising this contribution."

"I have praised it because we had wonderful cooperation. There were no conflicts, our partners were very helpful. Even if I wanted to find some negative spot I wouldn't be able to."

After the 1956 revolution in Hungary, its leader Imre Nagy was taken to prison in Romania. Shooting the parts that historically happened in Romania right on the spot would have exceeded the budget. That is why all the exterior scenes were shot in the mountainous region of Zdiar in the High Tatras. The Slovak producer Igor Hudec sees co-productions as the inevitable means of receiving sufficient financial resources for shooting films in this region.

"I have heard about the creation of the Central European even the Visegrad 4 film fund. Unfortunately, nothing has been done yet as far as I know. It might be because of the rise of European funds such as Eurimage or MediaDesk. My experience with them is not very positive. We definitely lack a regional type of fund."

For Igor Hudec, Visegrad is the optimal institution to perform such a role:

"It shouldn't be any financial problem to realise this idea. These are big countries with a lot of common themes to be filmed."

"The film was created under moderate financial conditions. The situation in cinematography is the same in each of our countries. The film industry in a small country cannot survive without co-productions."

A Slovak participant on the project, Gizela Mihalikova, was the assistant to the director. The Slovak and Hungarian filmmakers could see that their mutual cooperation was optimal. That is also why they tend to continue with common projects. Out of the 4 Visegrad countries, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia participated in bringing the story of Imre Nagy to the screen. Why not the Czech Republic?

"Originally, there was a great expectation. I suggested to Marta Meszaros to cast Dagmar Havlova, the wife of former Czech President Vaclav Havel, for the role of the wife of Imre Nagy. Marta was very enthusiastic about it. However, it was at the time when President Havel was leaving his office so the couple was travelling all over the world. It was physically not possible to have Mrs Havel on the spot. That's why the Czech Republic was out."

The picture was premiered in Hungary, is now in Slovak distribution, and aims for Poland. Will it get to the rest of Europe too? Gizela Mihalikova:

"At the premiere in Budapest, there were many representatives of big international film festivals who are interested in this film. We are glad that our picture has been chosen for the main competition of this year's international film festival in Karlovy Vary, the Czech Republic."

Despite efforts, the film was not included in the competition at the Berlin festival this year. One copy in the Hungarian language will be screened in the south of Slovakia which has a large population of ethnic Hungarians. Marta Meszaros has already shot a film in Slovakia. The effort to welcome the world famous director back was highly supported by the Slovak Culture Ministry. Although a success in co-operation, whether it will record similar success as to the number of viewers in a smaller Slovak market as it recorded in neighbouring Hungary remains unclear.

Six years since initial expansion of NATO
11.3.2005 - Rob Cameron

It is six years this week since the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland joined NATO - a milestone in the history of both the alliance and Central Europe. Last year NATO was enlarged even further, to include Slovakia, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Romania and the three Baltic states. We look at Central Europe's relationship with the Alliance.

Few would have imagined in 1989 that within 15 years most of the former Warsaw Pact armies would be flying the NATO flag. But the Alliance now stretches across most of Eastern Europe, from the Baltics to the Black Sea. The US President George W Bush was keen to stress the significance of this transition, during his recent trip to Slovakia.

"Last year the former member of the Warsaw Pact became a member of NATO, and took its rightful place in the European Union. Every Slovak can be proud of these achievements, and the American people are proud to call you allies, and friends, and brothers in the cause of freedom."

Slovak analyst Ivo Samson says the link between membership of NATO and the EU is not an accidental one: the EU, he says, only decided to move eastwards after the success of NATO's initial expansion. Mr Samson says for this the region's leaders should be grateful.

"Prime Minister Dzurinda should thank first of all the American president for the initiative of the United States for the push to enlarge NATO. Because it was the enlargement of NATO which brought the European leaders to the idea to enlarge the EU. So there are reasons enough simply to be really grateful to the United States."

The former Warsaw Pact members are slowly transforming huge and outdated armies into modern smaller forces, specialising in certain areas of expertise. But the transition hasn't always been easy. The Czech Republic, for example, had a baptism of fire. Less than two weeks after joining the Alliance in March 1999, the country found itself going to war against Yugoslavia - a traditional ally. Karel Kovanda is the outgoing Czech ambassador to NATO.

"The Kosovo campaign started twelve days after we became members of the alliance and I think the manner in which NATO makes its decisions took our politicians in Prague somewhat by surprise. And so, in the first days of the Kosovo campaign, our leadership found itself in two difficulties. One was the one unfamiliarity with the decision-making process and the other difficulty was public opinion, which was reflected in the view of some of our politicians. Public opinion, for a variety of reasons, was staunchly against the bombing and in favour of Belgrade even if it was the Belgrade of a Milosevic."

Despite such tests of faith, NATO membership remains generally popular among the people of the new members, who remember decades of Soviet occupation. For many people in the West NATO membership is an abstract, even irrelevant concept: for many Czechs, Slovaks and other former citizens of the eastern bloc, however, it's a real guarantee of security.

Poland's Silesian minority finds its voice and broadcasts it
11.3.2005 - Michal Zajac

Ethnic minorities in Poland have for years had little access to media in their own languages or dialects. While the Hungarian minority in neighboring Slovakia had a round-the-clock service in their native language, the Belarusian minority in eastern Poland could only listen to short broadcasts in Belarusian a couple of times a week. But now things seem to be changing. In Silesia, southern Poland, more and more media are launching programmes in Silesian - a dialect of the most distinct ethnic minority in Poland.

Radio Piekary, one of the most popular radio stations in the region, introduced programmes in Silesian already in the 1990s. As Anna Oleskiewicz of Radio Piekary says, most of its broadcasts today are aired in this dialect:

"Our radio slogan is in Silesia, about Silesia, in Silesian and our speakers have this unique ability to talk in Silesian. We have a great variety of native spoken programmes about Silesian tradition and history. It is to give people what they really need - the simplicity of important news, the sense of humour which speakers can give their listeners, and what's the most important, to give the sense of identity. People in Silesia are proud of their dialect and very happy that they are able to listen in their own language, native dialect."

Little wonder that noon is signaled on Radio Piekary not with the bugle-call from the Mariacki Church in Krakow, but with the sound of the bells of the local Cathedral of the Holy Mother of Piekary Slaskie, which is the major destination of Silesian pilgrims.

The Silesian dialect differs to a large extent from standard Polish in terms of pronunciation, intonation and vocabulary, of which a significant part has German roots. Danuta Berlinska, university lecturer from Opole, Lower Silesia, explains how the Silesian variety of Polish should be treated:

"Silesians treat their own Silesian, I mean Slavic dialect, as a language, because they strive to be recognized as a nation. However, according to linguistic research Silesian is a dialect. This dialect has some structural and lexical similarities to Polish. But over the centuries this dialect developed under the great influence of the German language and earlier Moravian dialect or Czech language."

Language is just one form of expressing ethnic identity. And where is the Silesian one rooted?

"Silesians did not share history with Poles from the 14th century, and Silesia belonged to the Czech Kingdom, then Austria, then Prussia. And Upper Silesia was divided after the First World War. And finally, after the Second World War the whole region was joined to Poland. And Silesians have a specific identity with some kind of conviction that they are an inferior group humiliated by Poles, particularly during the communist system and some kind of oppressions make group bonds much stronger."

Silesian language and traditions are cultivated in hundreds of thousands of families of southern Poland. Moreover, in the 2002 national census as many as 173,000 residents of Silesia described their nationality not as Polish but as Silesian. As of next month, access to Silesian media will be wider as the regional centre of Polish State TV in Katowice, the capital of Upper Silesia, is launching regular programmes in Silesian following the success of a number of pilot ones.

Slovenian mothers torn between the demands of work and family
11.3.2005 - Ksenija Samardzija-Matul

In Slovenia, women are bearing by far the greater burden when it comes to raising children. That's probably no surprise to anyone but a new survey has highlighted just how out of balance are the roles of women and men when it comes to child-care and how parents are often torn between the demands of work and family.

The survey clearly shows that parent-friendly employment and jobs should be encouraged. Women use more forms of paternal leave than men, which proves that women play a bigger role in the care for children. However, a significant number, 35% of men, go on parental leave for fathers but only for 14 days on average. It looks like parental leave for fathers has become an option for men as the following statement shows:

"I would like to share responsibilities with my future wife, so I would like to stay at home."

Another question that arises is whether men are prepared to stay at home for a longer period of time and under what conditions:

"I would stay as long as it goes...the maximum. I would like to stay if this is possible. You always have to consider the financial part, if that would be an option, yes why not. I would like to think that there should be more responsibility on men in the future, considering children."

While women spend more time on children, men usually spend more than eight hours at work per day, which means that women take a greater role in the education of children:

"That's in our nature that we think that women should take care of our children and I think that's wrong. I think with more conversation we can change this."

But things seem to get better and men are getting more and more involved:

"I think that more and more men take a more active part in the education of their children, which is good and healthy for the children and society in general and good for both parents."

Parents rarely use their right to shorter working hours until the child's third year. Only 4 % of parents used that possibility - the number would probably increase if parents earned more and would not depend on full payment:

"I think it's wonderful to work only four hours or six a day. If the employer offers you this possibility this is an ideal situation. I think I will work part-time until my son's third year."

However, the majority of parents want to continue working full time and this is why 50% of those asked in the survey said they would like to see kindergartens open longer. Some would like to have them open at weekends as well:

"The problem is that people today come home later from work, also my husband comes home late from work, so constant agreements and compromises on who will take care of the child are necessary. It is not easy, so this is why I would be pleased if the kindergartens would be open longer, they should be open also in the evening. Working hours are definitely too short and I think kindergartens should adjust to the new situation."

Working hours of kindergartens and measures aimed at preventing prolonged working hours of parents would help parents in managing their obligations at work and in the family. But the current situation in Slovenia makes it difficult to plan a family as a stable social background is not always guaranteed and employers are reluctant to employ young women, who want children.

Almost every fourth person polled, most of them women, said plans about children had been addressed at job interviews or before a promotion. Women, particularly younger ones said they had problems in finding a job because of family planning. A greater involvement of fathers in the family would give women equal opportunities on the labour market, where women are now more vulnerable.

International Women's Day in Hungary
11.3.2005 - Gyorgyi Jakobi

March 8 marked International Women's Day around the world. In Hungary, it is common for women to receive flowers from husbands, partners and male colleagues. But in much of Central Europe, Women's Day used to be a kind of "official" celebration under the old socialist regime and so today many people find it hard to celebrate spontaneously.

We spoke to Gyorgyi Toth from an organization which helps battered women - known as NANE, Women for Women and Against Violence:

"International Women's Day in Hungary fell prey to people who want to discredit a movement. This is done in different ways. You can, for example, just be very silent about it - this is what happened to the history of the Hungarian women's movement. You just don't learn about it at school, even though there was a very important and internationally known women's movement in the early 1900s. You can also discredit it by questioning the motives of the people and this is also what often happens in Hungary - questioning the personal background of the women and men who are involved in women's rights activities. Another thing you can do, and this is what happened to International Women's Day, is, if it's too big or too important to simply remove it or be silent about it, then basically keep the surface and simply change the content."

What about the younger generation. How do they feel about what it means to be a woman?

"I believe that there is a problem in Hungary having missed the wave of feminism that was in Europe in the 1960s and 1970s. This is because feminism was considered to be a harmful and decadent western ideology. So, it did not reach our bloc and is completely missing from our History. Funnily enough, the younger generation now has what analysts usually call post-feminist values. These are values that were actually achieved by feminist activism but at the same time denying that it has anything to do with women's rights and women's equality."

Isn't it strange that International Women's Day is kind of rejected by many because of the socialist heritage, when after all the regime fought for emancipation but it was a wrong concept of emancipation?

"Well, there is a Hungarian saying that when you empty the bath tub of a baby you also empty the baby with it. This is what is happening here too. We are experiencing a conservative backlash as a result of people being fed up by the socialist regime as we experienced it for over fifty years and there is a tendency to despise everything even the achievements that were absolutely vital to create a more equal society."