Film Archive

Show!

Documentary Films - Out of Competition 2014 / Show! / Czech Republic 2013

The girl band 5Angels, rigorously managed by the ambitious father of one of the singers, is aiming for the highest echelons of Czech showbiz. This unflattering report from the world of glitz, where extra pounds are simply not an option, demonstrates that the road to success demands resourceful marketing and the goodwill of the tabloids.

Synopsis

Seven years ago the girl band 5Angels, founded by Michal Mertl, father of one of the singers, set out to conquer the world of show business. Bohdan Bláhovec followed their progress for over a year. He demonstrates that to attain the highest echelons of showbiz, or success via top-selling albums and mega audience figures, simply requires a clever marketing strategy and tabloid goodwill. While this study of teen pop bands doesn’t directly judge any of the participants involved, the account of the entertainment industry ends up extremely unflattering. The movie also holds a mirror up to an ambitious man who controls his protégées with an iron fist without realising that he has suppressed his paternal feelings in favour of a professional relationship between manager and singer. What are parents prepared to sacrifice in their children’s lives in order to fulfil their own ambitions? And how are the girls themselves faring in the hypocritical, glitzy environment where they can’t put on a single ounce? This extraordinarily successful graduate film by a talented Czech director supplies the answers.

About the film

69 min / Color, DCP

Director Bohdan Bláhovec / Screenplay Bohdan Bláhovec / Dir. of Photography Prokop Souček, Marek Dvořák, Šimon Dvořáček / Editor Šimon Hájek / Producer Pavla Kubečková / Production Nutprodukce / Coproduction Česká televize / Czech Television, Studio FAMU / Contact nutprodukce, Asociace českých filmových klubů / Distributor Asociace českých filmových klubů

About the director

Bohdan Bláhovec (b. 1984, Plzeň, Czechoslovakia) acquired his Bachelor’s degree in documentary filmmaking at FAMU, where he is currently completing his Master’s. His student films Who Wants to Kill Ashley (Kdo chce zabít Ashley, 2007) and About the House (O domě, 2009) were presented at several Czech festivals; the former won Best Documentary at Famufest and received a Jury Special Mention at Plzeň’s Finále. Last year, Bláhovec finished his graduate film Show!, which went on to win the Audience Award at the Jihlava documentary FF (MFDF) and a Czech Film Critics’ Award for Best Documentary. Apart from his film work, the young director is also a Czech pioneer in the art of slam poetry.