Slovak film has undergone a difficult period of development. The road from the first sporadic attempts at cinematic production through to the establishment of a national cinematography, the creative successes of the 1960s and the complicated normalisation period and search for new possibilities, solutions and values after 1989 has often littered with contradictions. Influenced by state power and the social and cultural context, and forged by new possibilities in production, technology and financial support, this road led Slovak film from its first tentative steps to maturity, from individual works to a complete cinematography. And in the process, thanks to the many creative figures which emerged, Slovak film became not only part of the Slovak and European artistic and cultural heritage but also irreplaceable evidence of the period, society and country in which it originated and existed.