A Good Mind Grows in Thorny Places

“A Good Mind Grows in Thorny Places" is a short documentary that follows 12-year-old Adam, a local self-proclaimed lumberjack in the so-called “hungry valley” in the middle of Slovakia. Despite the toughness of his life, Adam spins a simple and poetic tale. He's a kid with grown-up responsibilities, standing out as the hardest worker among his friends, even though he's Roma, a fact that doesn't bother him or his family but that is often brought up of by their peers. His brother's part of an extremist political party with conservative views on minorities, but Adam looks up to him for his tree-sawing skills. Adam tries to show only the good side of himself in the village, although his friends see him differently. Patiently, he waits for the right time to reveal who he truly is, defying expectations along the way.

Director, Screenplay, DoP, Editing: Katarína Gramatová ● Sound Design: Anna Žihlová ● Color Grading: Petr Simo ● Cast: Adam Šuniar, Michal Zachenský, Dominik Vetrák ● Executive producer: Julie Žáčková

Director: Delaine Le Bas ● Camera: Lincoln Cato, Delaine Le Bas, Hera Santos ● Editor: Laszlo Farkas ● Sound: Justin Langlands ● Music: Laszlo Farkas Mixing of Original Sound & Justin Langlands ● Cast: Delaine Le Bas, Hera Santos ● Producer: Delaine Le Bas