The story is dedicated to the fate of photographer Martin Martinček, a former lawyer, who, after losing his entire family in a tragic accident in 1945, and later after being forced to leave Bratislava by the communist regime, found solace and expression of his pain in the art of photography. His photographs of old people, nature and abstract details reflect an effort to come to terms with deep personal grief, while art represented for him a way of dialogue with lost loved ones. Martinček’s emergence as a photographer was fundamentally influenced by his wife, the cubist painter Ester Šimerová, who encouraged him to create and helped him find a new meaning in life.

The project also reveals a parallel between the fates of Martin Martinček and Ester Šimerová, who also experienced her own tragedy – the death of her first husband during World War II. Through Ester Šimerová’s narration, the documentary explores how art can function as a way of healing or escaping from painful reality. The focus is on their relationship, which was not only a love story, but also a reflection of their mutual tragedies and their joint efforts to transform suffering into an artistic gesture.

The aim of the documentary project is not to create a biographical film, but rather a reflective work that seeks to reveal the hidden meaning and emotional power of Martinček’s photographs and Šimerová’s paintings. The footage will combine historical materials with contemporary scenes, allowing viewers to understand their artistic work more deeply as a way of defiance against the adversity of the times and an expression of a deep, though often hidden, humanity.