Ivan Ostrochovský on Only Beautiful Things to Look At
In 1980s Czechoslovakia, a doctor’s comfortable understanding of her work begins to unravel through a friendship with a young Roma colleague.
In this episode of Stream Close Up, Brian Laffan speaks with Slovak filmmaker Ivan Ostrochovský about Only Beautiful Things to Look At, starring Aňa Geislerová and Simona Boledovičová. Set against the forced sterilisation of Roma women, the film explores how prejudice becomes institutional practice, and how people rationalise the harm they cause.
Ivan describes meeting doctors who continued to defend their actions decades later, and explains how those encounters shaped the film. We discuss the relationship between its two central characters, his approach to casting, and the striking images and intimate sound that draw us into their world.
Our conversation also covers:
Recorded during the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, shortly after the film’s world premiere.
Since the interview: Only Beautiful Things to Look At won the FIPRESCI international critics’ award at Karlovy Vary and was selected for the 2027 European Film Awards fiction shortlist.