The ETNOFILM international film festival was founded in December 1980, when the creators of films about folk culture met for the first time in Čadca. The festival is inextricably linked with the names of important figures of Slovak artistic, scientific and cultural life, such as Martin Slivka, Peter Maráky, Oskar Elschek, Svetozár Švehlák, Milan Leščák, Dušan Hanák, Rudolf Gerát, Daniel Luther, Štefan Vraštiak, Boris Hochel, Peter Mihálik , Miroslav Ruttkay Dauko, Martin Mešša and many others. One of its founders, PhDr. Peter Maráky, took over the position of chairman of the festival in the previous year as well and became the professional guarantor of the event.

The festival is one of the oldest events focused on ethnographic and documentary film in Slovakia and annually attracts the attention of domestic and foreign filmmakers and experts. Its main idea is to preserve and present the cultural heritage, traditions and way of life of various nations and ethnic groups. The awards will be decided by an international jury: Prof. PhDr. Zuzana Beňušková, CSc. - ethnologist, ethnographer, cultural and social anthropologist, Dr hab. Jadwiga Hučková, prof. UJ - film historian, associate professor at the Institute of Audiovisual Arts of the Jagiellonian University, Republic of Poland, Mgr. Ivo Brachtl - screenwriter, cameraman, director and teacher, Slovak Republic, Mgr. Katarína Mildnerová, Ph.D. - Czech Africanist, social and cultural anthropologist, president of the Czech Association of African Studies, Czech Republic and Judit Dorottya Csorba - curator and filmmaker, Hungary.

The modern strategy of the festival is to focus on the young audience and the general public with an emphasis on education for tolerance, building a welcoming relationship to difference, to otherness, to others - to individuals, nations or nationalities and various groups, supplemented by accompanying activities. As part of the long-term cooperation with the secondary schools of the Kysúc region, the festival - screening of competitive films is included in the educational process of secondary schools in the Kysúc region and is open to the general public on November 12 - 15, 2024 in the House of Culture in Čadca. As part of the Cooperation Agreement with the University of Žilina in Žilina, Department of Mediamatics and Cultural Heritage, Academy of Arts in Banská Bystrica, Department of Film Documentary, VŠMU Bratislava, Film and Television Faculty and with Institute of Culture and Tourism Management, University of Konstantin Filozof in Nitra, University of Konstantin Filozof in Nitra, there will be a competitive screening the festival also takes place on the campus of the mentioned universities. The festival will offer the professional public and filmmakers a space for inspiring, creative and professional meetings in the form of discussions, analytical seminars and personal meetings in the framework of workshops and the Etnokaviareň.

The program of individual competition projections will be published in the coming days on https://www.etnofilm.sk/en/program-festival/cadca