Film Archive

Dukla 61

Czech Films 2017–2018 2018 / Dukla 61 / Czech Republic 2018

David Ondříček’s TV film looks back at one of the country's greatest mining tragedies. In 1961 a fire broke out in the Dukla mine near Ostrava and killed 108 miners. This rousing family drama heads slowly towards a needless and incomprehensible disaster that resonates in the harsh region to this very day.

Synopsis

One of the most remarkable Czech television productions of recent times focuses on the largest mine disaster of the latter 20th century. Unmet standards, the pressure to produce results, and an avalanche of critical errors caused a fire on July 7, 1961, during which 108 men suffocated in a Dukla mineshaft. Director David Ondříček turns the half-forgotten tragedy into a family drama that ultimately morphs into a catastrophic thriller. The work, which was shot in a former mine in Rakovník, Czechia, is thus transformed into an emotive take on the period that pays tribute to the mining profession. Those brave men regarded their work as a mission, even though they risked their lives each and every day.

Jan Škoda

About the film

150 min / Color, Black & White, DCP

Director David Ondříček / Screenplay Jakub Režný, Matěj Podzimek / Dir. of Photography Marek Dvořák / Music Beata Hlavenková / Editor Jakub Hejna / Art Director David Vondrášek, Kateřina Štefková / Producer Michal Reitler / Production Česká televize / Cast Martha Issová, Marek Taclík, Oskar Hes, Antonie Formanová, Peter Nádasdi, Robert Mikluš / Sales Česká televize

About the director

David Ondříček (b. 1969, Prague). Selected filmography: Whisper (1996), Loners (2000), One Hand Can’t Clap (2003), Grandhotel (2006), In the Shadow (2012), Dukla 61 (2018)