Slavic Epopee
A Thousand Years of Solitude
Slavic Epopee is a film about the ancient Slavic communion in Europe. It unveils the intriguing story of our early background and development, the impact of which shaped nowadays Europe. Slavic Epopee is set in 9th century AD, dark and mysterious times most of us vaguely recall from history classes like the era defined by sequences of confusing wars, cruelty and migration. As reliable resources are scarce, it takes both - deep knowledge as well as courage and fantasy to create a picture true enough to illuminate the times for contemporary spectator.
The subtitle – A Thousand Years of Solitude represents the time before Christianity, but also the time of disintegration of the common roots, which now finally reconvene in the newly unified Europe.
In 9th century AD, paganism was suddenly interrupted by the light from Thessaloniki, Greece. Two brothers, the priests Konstantin and Metod, brought Christianity to the Slavs from the Byzantine Empire. They introduced alphabet, literature, liturgy and a whole new spirit to the early Slavic people. The alphabet called Cyrillic was especially created to capture the unique sounds of the old Slavic language and it is still commonly used in Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Serbia, Bosnia and Macedonia.
Great Moravia, the first Slavic kingdom under Svatopluk rule, served as an example to other Slavic tribes in Central Europe, the Balkans and in Kievan Rus. This Slavic empire significantly affected the historical development of Europe and its formation. Since then, the Slavs have expanded, and as a variety of unique nations, they have continued to maintain their position in Europe.
Even though the central plot of the story is the struggle, it is not an epic about heroism, but rather about the suffering, sacrifice and victims that great achievements entail.
Synopsis - Part I:
The first part PAGANS, shows the period of the early Slavs, their ancient rituals, the unity with the forces of nature and their rough transition to monotheism. We follow the journey of young Svätopluk, from his escape from the Germanic imprisonment up to the moment when he becomes the ruler. With his uncle Rastislav, he becomes co-emperor of the first Slavic empire - Great Moravia. His story is full of passion, youthful defiance, bravery, new discoveries and painful losses, and it radiates with his commitment to change the world.
The first part PAGANS, shows the period of the early Slavs, their ancient rituals, the unity with the forces of nature and their rough transition to monotheism. We follow the journey of young Svätopluk, from his escape from the Germanic imprisonment up to the moment when he becomes the ruler. With his uncle Rastislav, he becomes co-emperor of the first Slavic empire - Great Moravia. His story is full of passion, youthful defiance, bravery, new discoveries and painful losses, and it radiates with his commitment to change the world.
The first part plants lines that are elaborated on in the second part, such as the matriarchy of Raduna – the mother of the pagan tribe, or the arrival of Constantine and Methodius, who developed the Slavic alphabet. Svätotopluk, as a young Christian is confronted with the magical customs of pagan faith, he experiences his first love in the mysterious pagan village, and the whole world of complex links between the energy of nature and the magical world of pagan ancestors opens up to him. Under the loving protection of Raduna’s daughter, he experiences the magic of conception as well as death, which affects him for the rest of his life. Shattered after the loss of his loved one, he decides to return to the world of intellect and power, and fight with the sword for his priorities, faith and new realm.
Synopsis - Part II:
The second part, CHRISTIANS, depicts the complex intrigues and cruel fights for independence of the first Slavic Empire. Even at the price of betrayal and bloodshed, Svätopluk is determined to unify the Slavic tribes. The ancestors of today's Slovaks, Czechs, Russians, Poles, Bulgarians and Serbs join forces and defeat the mighty Franks and Germans. Their territory expands to occupy one third of Europe. Other heroes from this huge region are introduced: two dominant figures from Kijevan Rus – Oleg and Ruslana who both pay with their lives for the sake of Slavic independence.
King Svatopluk also becomes the king of Bohemians. The Great Moravian empire is at the peak of its extent and power.
Although Svatopluk tries to instill to his sons the importance of unity, he is not able to make them his disciples who could continue and save his ideas for the future. The end of Svätopluk’s life, therefore, means also the fall of the great Slavic empire.
The word of the director
On many occasions I have been surprised how much information do the European audiences lack about the history of the Slavic people. A great number of our Western neighbors presume that our recorded history only began to unroll sometime after the war. They are unaware that all of us, the Slavic people, once belonged together or that all of our current languages originated from one common tongue, spoken by all Slavs since the dawn of their existence. Yet the early development of the political, cultural and religious identity of the Slavs had played a significant part in completing the mosaic of modern Europe. The story of the once great Slavic nation, that has roots extending as far as the Balkans and Russia – had remained mystery far too long...
It is a story full of hymns, love, death and turns of events during which the pagan and Christian faiths struggled with the reality of the ancient world... In ancient Europe, the forces of nature were equally unpredictable as the actions of humans. Life and death, war and piece, heaven and hell were all so close, they often merged in one. The events between the heavens and the earth could be real or miraculous at the same time. The main storyline of both films follows Prince Svatopluk´s journey from captivity to his coronation as the King of Great Moravia and his decision to unite all the Slavic tribes speaking the same Slavic language.
The Slavic Epopee is not only a tale about heroism, but also about the sacrifices great achievements entail. Svatopluk is often forced to take actions which we would consider to be cruel and at times immoral, but at his time, such actions are taken in order for great visions to become reality. In the end, Svatopluk dies as a tragic figure – abandoned and also aware of his dream dying with him, because he was not able to find a successor...
My story is not only about the battles between once powerful and now forgotten kings or their dramatic manipulations behind the scenes. It is also about the nations and peoples of contemporary Europe whose prehistory has never been shown in film before. It is a story about the complicated birth of Christianity, but also about the protection of a homeland and about the desire for happiness in spite of ill fate…
Because I like stories dominated by magic, I have decided to base the artistic concept of the film on the principles of the Byzantine mosaic. This art technique belonged to the most sophisticated ones at its time and to date, it hasn’t lost anything from its magnificence.
Juraj Jakubisko
The word of the producer
Contemporary Europe has set itself into a space without frontiers. This new world we all share, consists of countries and nations, which keep defining their place in the large common home. For many of the new members, many of which are Slavs, it is for the very first time, they present their ancient roots, the origins of their language, faith and attitude.
It is relatively unknown, that more than a thousand years ago, the Slavic tribes shared the same fate – the struggle against the oppression of the Franks and Germans.
On the platform of cooperation on this project, Slavic nations have a unique opportunity to show, that although during the 20th century some Slavic
Deana Jakubiskova
Project Description: project is currently in development stage
Original Idea: Juraj Jakubisko
Author of the script: Juraj Jakubisko
Producer: Deana Jakubisková
Production Designer: Juraj Jakubisko
Art Director: Ing. Arch. Jan Zázvorka
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