The ceremonial premiere of the film NEPELA took place in Bratislava and several well-known personalities did not miss it. In addition to actor Josef Trojan and actress Zuzana Mauréra, a figure skater also came Adam Hagara, who voiced Trojan on ice in the film, but also well-known personalities Zuzana Vačková, Rasťo Iliev, Zuzana Čaputová with her daughter Lea, Ady Hajda, Matej Landl and his family, Andrea Karnasová, Kristína Tormová and others. Popular presenter Iveta Malachovská, who lost a lot of weight, also caused a big stir.
Natasha Nepela, daughter of Ondrej Nepela, who came all the way from Venezuela for the occasion, was also an important guest of the premiere. Although she did not know her adoptive father, her mother told her a lot about him and she feels a great connection with him and especially thanks to the fact that he helped her mother in difficult moments of her life. You can find footage from the premiere in the photo gallery.
NEPELA shows one year of the life of our important athlete – but perhaps the most demanding year. The one when he came with the greatest sporting success, a gold medal from the Winter Olympics in Sapporo, and was determined to legally leave Czechoslovakia and become part of the Holiday on Ice ice show in Germany. However, the communist regime did not agree to this, Nepela became a prisoner in his own country, which he not only could not leave because he was not allowed to travel, but also had to represent Czechoslovakia at the upcoming WC in Bratislava, even when he no longer wanted to.
The film NEPELA reveals unusual facts not only about the life of an athlete in the former regime, but also about the inner world and conflicts of the Slovak athlete of the 20th century, who did not feel freedom and was looking for motivation for what, paradoxically, brought him the greatest fame and success – high-quality sports performances.
