The Partizánske Shoe Factory (S01E02)

This documentary portrait from the Constructing Slovakia series points out the significance of a place indissolubly linked to the shoe industry. Since its very founding, the town of Partizánske has been shaped by the presence of Czech footwear magnate Jan Antonín Baťa’s factory. Shoes, mind you, are a consumable item. And just as choosing the right pair depends on the weather, thus has the fate of the factory and its employees been influenced by the fickle moods of the political skies. Advertisements and sales techniques have been adapted. In its glory days, the manufacturer united elegance of form with refinement of substance. At the same time, profits depended on the efficient production and effective operation of its factories, as well as their accessibility from local housing estates. As times have changed, and views of private enterprise along with them, the industrial face of the town of Partizánske has also changed, steering the fates of the company’s owners and its rankand- file workers alike. (Art Film Fest)