At Mezipatra we build bridges and try to connect people through the stories on the big screen. With this year's theme of Breaking the Ice, we want to underline the key aims of the festival once again: we should be seen and heard, communicate our needs, and pull together. In this year’s festival films, I hope that you will find inspiration and new ways of understanding yourself and those around you. We hope to encourage everyone to defend our shared values, even if it sometimes requires stepping out of our comfort zone. It truly is needed.

The festival takes place in the shadow of the act of terror in Bratislava directed against LGBTQ+ communities, during which two young queer people lost their lives. I want to dedicate this year's festival to the memory of Juraj and Matúš.