Experiencing Interruptions?

Igor Bazala

Igor Bazala is 82 years old and still runs ultramarathons. In May 1968, he has founded one - 82 km long "Stefanik Run" to celebrate General M.R. Štefánik. But then, in August 1968 the Russian army invaded Czechoslovakia. A promising pentathlete and young journalist Igor Bazala was a direct witness to the murder of a young girl on the square of Bratislava. Then he emigrated and found his second home in Munich, Germany. In spite of everything, he never stopped believing that he would run Stefanik Run again one day. He had to wait 22 years until Velvet Revolution in 1989. In October 2018 he stands at the start of its eighth edition, exactly 50 years since its establishment in 1968.

  • Viliam Bendík
    Director
  • Viliam Bendík
    Writer
  • Martin Urbaník
    Writer
  • Viliam Bendík
    Producer
  • Igor Bazala
    Key Cast
    "Himself"
  • Martin Urbaník
    Key Cast
    "Himself"
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    Igor Bazala
  • Project Type:
    Documentary
  • Runtime:
    42 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    August 31, 2021
  • Production Budget:
    5,000 EUR
  • Country of Origin:
    Slovakia
  • Country of Filming:
    Germany, Slovakia
  • Language:
    Slovak
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Viliam Bendík

Viliam Bendík worked for twelve years in management positions in different international corporations. In 2013 he decided to leave it all and start again, this time in his own company. In his free time, he also took up amateur ultra-running. After many years he returned to his old pastime – shooting short documentary features. His first bigger movie attempt, covering trail running, 12CH Vysoké Tatry Trail (documentary, 36 min), was awarded with a number of prizes at domestic festivals. It proved to be a huge encouragement to start working on a more extensive project On the Edge (documentary, 42 min) which tells of six runners who decided to make the authentic World War II story of Vrba and Wetzler come alive. More than 40.000 people have seen the movie version of this story and the author toured primary and secondary schools in Slovakia with this project, where more than 10.000 children were able to watch it during an educational programme. Currently, he is working within the Bendik Films brand on further interesting amateur movie projects, in Slovakia and abroad. Moving stories told as long distances on interesting routes are run remains their common theme.

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Director Statement

For the last three years, I have become very close with him in the production of a film about running, which he founded in 1968 to celebrate General Štefánik, and I learned a lot from him. At the end of 1968, after the invasion of Czechoslovakia by the occupying forces, he had to leave his home. He finally found his second home in Munich. Even today, at his age, he regularly drives between Munich and Bratislava, and has 20 km of training routes in both cities, which have been running for almost 60 years. Despite the unfavorable fate, he still hoped that one day he would return to Bratislava and be able to run Štefánik Run (82 km from Ivanka to Bradlo) at least once more.