I Am not Afraid To Speak
Gita’s father was executed while her mum was given a life sentence and subsequently released aft er 7 years. Amidst the Easter in the small Slovak village, Gita, a tireless fi ghter for communist regime victims’ rights encounters the opinions of those from her village…
Synopsis
It is Easter. Margita Zimanová’s home is full of decorated eggs, flowers, and people that are dear to her. All that brings back memories of her childhood and everything her family had to suffer during the communist regime. It is not only her who reminiscences, it is all her family. Similarly as Margita they hope they can change the popular thinking of little village Margita lives in, and perhaps beyond. The small poll done during the shooting of the documentary there shows how unfavorably her political activities are viewed on and how unwilling to talk about the past the inhabitants of that small village are.
A story of the family
Margita Zimanová is Pavol Valenta’s daughter. Her father was arrested and consequently executed in 1953 for helping his godfather to get across the borders. Her mother was also found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment. After seven years she was released. Their daughter had to move out from Bratislava to little Slovak village of Lovča, where she lives up until today and where she was brought up by her grandma.
About the Director
“The drive and energy Margita radiates might be for a person unfamiliar with her story and society she lives in a little bit disturbing. However, because of that she won my heart and a chance to meet Margita Zimanová was an extraordinary experience for me. It was partly because I myself was born in Slovakia and know very well how it goes in this small country with its traditional villages. They are still governed by fear to talk openly about the past. In spite of that, or rather because of that, to talk about the past has become Margita’s life mission.“