AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE
On the outskirts of a Slovakian village, a group of loggers clears a forest as their workhorse, Kubo, labours under the weight of the logs. The workers’ day-to-day activities bear witness to an energy crisis heightened by the war in Ukraine and the dependence on Russian natural gas, making firewood a precious resource for rural Slovakian communities. 

Cold and Dark transports us to the bleak landscape of an impoverished region, its black-and-white palette intensifying the gloom of clouded skies and deep winter nights. With attention to the textures and atmosphere of this ominous and beautiful world, Slovak director, cinematographer and editor Peter Hošták evokes an ambiguous realm in which people, nature, and machines become blurred. 

Cold and Dark will be followed by the documentary I’m Not Everything I Want to Be (dir: Klára Tasovská, 2024, Czech Republic, 90 mins).

World Premiere: 2023 Sheffield DocFest