Czech Films 2018–2019

Monika is pregnant by Mirek, a marriage con man who is serving time for cheating several women out of hundreds of thousands of crowns. A strong woman, Monika initially believes he can change, but over time she becomes increasingly afraid of him. Eva Tomanová’s empathetic documentary follows all the ups and downs of their unusual relationship.

Apart is an intimate, melancholic, and highly sensitive story of three people who lost a parent during their adolescence. This animated documentary takes a fresh approach to rotoscoping, in which live-action footage of real people is painted over to create an animated format. The movie’s structure is thus organically transformed into everything from abstract images to realistic scenes.

With her humorous short film, Tereza Kovandová succeeds in transforming fairy tales such as Beauty and the Beast, Rapunzel, and Cinderella into a morbid homage to the films of both Lotte Reininger and Quentin Tarantino. Her provocative cutout animation uses shadow play to create spontaneous outbursts of blood-red violence against a black-and-white background – all without ever crossing the bounds of good taste.

She’s a lonely, trusting pensioner who’s worried that no-one needs her anymore. He’s an indebted young man with a secret. Jiřina Bohdalová and Kryštof Hádek star in this unpredictable psychological thriller as two people who end up imprisoned in a ground-floor flat. But perhaps that’s not such a bad thing after all.

Daria Kashcheeva’s puppet film depicts the relationship between a father and daughter as they overcome a mutual lack of understanding to find their way back to each other. The movie’s emotional tension and unsettling atmosphere are heightened by unusually dynamic camerawork and by closeups of the puppets’ faces, whose expressions make an exceptionally life-like impression.

This puppet movie – about a lonely fisherman in the Arctic who one day is forced to face the “skeletons in his closet” – relates a tale of losing one’s identity in today’s overly technologized world. The picture’s uneasy atmosphere is further amplified by its evocative use of sound and the raw manipulation of natural and artificial materials.

Kateřina Karhánková’s highly endearing graduate film tells the tale of a furry little forest-dweller who, in an attempt at acquiring a delicious orange fruit, manages to overcome his fear of the unknown. Fruits of Clouds is characterized by a subtle sense of humor and captivating visual style, created by artist Alžběta Skálová, that will enchant even adult viewers.

What is the price of victory? Director Radim Špaček’s epic sports drama looks at the turbulent history of Czechoslovak basketball. The eager players give their all on the court, but they must also face a similarly ruthless fight in real life. Amid the social turmoil caused by various dictatorships’ rise to power, fair play gets thrown out the window.

This animated death comedy is a morbid yet entertaining overview of stereotypical Czech characters who are brought together by chance. Told in reverse chronological order, the story has a surprising climax and is given a pleasant sense of rhythm thanks to its lively soundtrack, which alternates brass band music with techno, local hard rock, and the popular hit “Zubatá” (the Grim Reaper) by the Czech New Wave group Pražský výběr.

Through the imagination of its young characters, Barbora Halířová’s humorous graduation film uses a game of hide-and-seek to pull the viewer into the surreal world of the human subconscious. Thanks to its attention to detail, the young director’s Hide N Seek becomes a thrilling game that forces us to perceive every second of passing time.

He never told anyone of his plan and needed no one’s approval. Director Robert Sedláček’s ambitious drama untangles the mystery of student martyr Jan Palach, who set himself on fire on January 16, 1969 in protest against the Soviet occupation of Czechoslovakia.

Saša leaves her husband and finds refuge with Dušan. They are both trying to work out their relationships and provide support for each other as they falter in their uncertainty. In his feature film debut Bohdan Karásek shows a preference for natural, subtly humorous dialogue and demonstrates that the limitations of independent filmmaking can, in fact, be turned to one’s advantage.

A touching tale of a boy and his grandfather as they spend the day flying a kite. The film animates the layers of textile that make up the characters in order to depict the process of aging and the gradual physical and mental distancing from life. The stop-motion animation of the soft fabric objects lends the film its charm.

In this captivating crime drama, a mysterious death in the border town of Varnsdorf brings together a cynical detective and a young idealistic police officer. Their investigation leads them to the local Vietnamese community, which is bound by rigid rules and complicated relationships.

A group of young hockey players from the east Bohemian town of Náchod travel to Morocco, where a local team has taken up ice hockey. Documentary filmmakers Rozálie Kohoutová and Tomáš Bojar return to the world of sports to capture a vibrant dialogue between different cultures seeking a common language, on and off the ice.

A grumpy old man happens upon a young Vietnamese lad on the roof of his Prague apartment block and offers him a temporary home in his flat. The two very different individuals initially find it difficult to get along; however, they gradually discover that they need one another. Actor Jiří Mádl demonstrates his talent as a director in this small-scale piece interwoven with gentle humour.

In the space of just five minutes, Evgeny Terpugov creates an introspective study of womanhood and the process of rediscovering oneself. The poetically animated movie takes place in a sauna – or, more specifically, a typical Russian banya. A woman tortured by a relationship and perhaps even by her own life is prepared to leave both behind. The banya becomes a place of salvation, contemplation, physical and spiritual regeneration, and, eventually, liberation.