There are people among us who are talented in one area of life and then there are people who are successful in almost everything they do. And among such people is the director and musician Valentín Kozaňák, who is living proof that a person can have many talents hidden within him, he just has to find the courage to discover them.
How did you get into the theater? Was it a fateful thing for you?
Doing theater is always a matter of fate. I got to know him already in elementary school, where there was a very successful theater club in those days, led by teacher Nehringová. But my initial motivation at that time was not to do theater, but rather to drop out of school. I saw from my classmates who attended this club that they went to different performances, so I wanted to try it too. My first role, since I was a beginner, was a chair, I actually played the scenery. But I gradually got bigger tasks and I was always fascinated to observe how the teacher prepares each performance in detail, maybe that's why I later got into directing.
The family musical Pinocchio, under your direction, is celebrating success this theater season. You made it to the Scenic Harvest in Martin as the winner of the all-Slovak parade. What do you think makes the production so special?
Pinocchio is formally a very complex performance, as it combines spoken word, singing, dancing, music and visual arts. This makes it colorful and attractive for the audience as well. In terms of content, it is also very emotional, because it tells the story of the relationship between father and son, and at the same time, through Pinocchio's desire to become a human, it talks about the beauty of human life. It is a show that appeals to young and old viewers regardless of age. Where can the audience see this successful production before the end of the year? After the Scenic Harvest, we still have two performances in the House of Culture in Čadec, and we were also selected to go to Bratislava for the Tvorba festival, where the most successful artistic projects from the fields of theater, film, and music are presented every year, and we also have a performance in Prague in as part of the Sun Integration festival. But Pinocchio will definitely be performed in Slovak cities next year as well, so the audience will have plenty of opportunities to see this show somewhere.
In addition to theater, you are also involved in filmmaking. Film in Slovakia is not experiencing completely easy times. Is there any room for a small independent creator in this kind of art?
It certainly is. The fact that we are not dependent on any funds from state funds or a large sponsor, but can secure money from our own resources, gives us a free hand to make short films independently, innovatively, and not be afraid to bring elements to the film that an ordinary filmmaker might cannot allow. Well, that independence gives us all the more desire to work on the film. With the short film From the Road, you won first place this year at the all-Slovak Cineama competition in Nitra. How was the film created? The film Z cesty was created as part of the international film festival 48 hour film projects in Prague, which we regularly participate in in Prague and Bratislava, and was created according to the conditions of the competition in 48 hours. In this short time, it was possible to invent, shoot and edit an interesting 7-minute work, which found its way to the jury and the audience.
What about music? You often compose your own music for your shows and films. Do you have any musical education or are you more self-taught in this field as well?
I got to music again through the theater. At first, like every other boy, I started playing the guitar, which later enabled me to compose songs for theater performances. I only have a basic musical education, so I can say that I am self-taught. But I learned to work with modern computer technology, which helps today's composers a lot, so today I compose music for my shows and films all by myself.
You also made music for television. Is there a big difference between composing music for yourself and composing music for commission?
The difference is that when I make music for myself, I am the sole author and at the same time the censor. But when I make music for television, other people decide about it, and the author doesn't always have to match their idea. So they get the first demos and then they tell me if they want it faster, more rhythmic or more melancholic. But I've already made music for several TV projects, especially documentaries, and so far they've always accepted it, so in the end we find common ground every time.
He recently directed a new music video for the Slovak metal band Symfóbia. How does one go from theater to shooting music videos?
Considering the fact that I already had several directorial ventures in the theater and lately I have also been intensively working on film, a fellow cameraman and editor approached me about making some video clips for music bands, since he already had experience with that. Before Symfóbia, we made several video clips together for other bands, but this project was all the more challenging because it was no longer just about putting together and editing some filmed images, but the video clip for the song Bury it is basically a short film story with a coherent idea and solid dramaturgy, and maybe that's why the band chose us.
It seems that you have a very broad scope of your artistic activities. Is it possible to make a living or do you have to do something else?
I'm not a freelance artist and I don't do it for a living. If I wanted to take the path of a professional artist, be it a director or a musician, I would have to devote much more time to it. In addition, I also have an economic company that supports me. For me, the theater and art in general has always been something to relax, something that stimulated me in life to come up with other ideas after work.
And what about life outside the cultural metropolis? Isn't it a certain "handicap" for a theater artist, filmmaker and musician?
I consider the city in which I live - Nitra - to be a cultural metropolis, because everything I need for life is here. Whether it is the Andrej Bagar Theater and the associated Divadelná Nitra, successful music groups, student life and the like. Finally, it's only an hour's drive from here to Bratislava, and Slovakia is so small and connected via the Internet and other modern technologies that today it doesn't really matter where an artist lives and creates. He can be peacefully somewhere in a cottage in the High Tatras and yet he is still in the center of cultural events. Have you had a successful year, are you preparing something new for the next art season? We have new projects underway. We are preparing a new family musical Pippi Longstocking for Divadlo Materinka, we also plan to continue creating new music videos, and we would like to go one step further in film and make a full-length feature film.
What do theater, film and music mean to you in life?
For me it mainly means freedom. It is an opportunity to realize yourself, to present your work to other people, so that they can experience some of my vision firsthand. It makes me happy that when we create something new, because I never do it alone, we can move and inspire our viewers or listeners. To show them some way in life.
Text and photo: Vladimír Dubeň