Film Archive

Golden Sting

Czech Films 2018–2019 2019 / Zlatý podraz / Czech Republic, Slovak Republic 2018

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.

Synopsis

They make an incredible effort on the court, but in real life they have to struggle even harder against an era that disdains them and does not respect the rules of fair play. This epic sports drama tells the tale of the Czechoslovak basketball team, which found itself fighting on several fronts between 1938 and 1951. Director Radim Špaček combines the thrill of the game with social turmoil and elements of romantic drama. While at a postwar world championship tournament in Geneva, basketball player František meets beautiful Michelle and they fall in love, but fate conspires against them. The script was inspired by real-life events described by Jakub Bažant and Jiří Závozda in their book They Did Not Shy from Courage.

Jan Škoda

About the film

107 min / Color, DCP

Director Radim Špaček / Screenplay Jakub Bažant, Kristína Nedvědová, Jiří Závozda / Dir. of Photography Vladimír Smutný / Music Jakub Kudláč / Editor Anna Johnson Ryndová / Art Director Jiří Sternwald / Producer Jaroslav Bouček / Production BUC-FILM, s.r.o. / Coproduction Miroslav Jansta, Česká televize, Tipsport, Barrandov Studio, Punkchart / Cast Filip Březina, Patrycja Volny, Zdeněk Piškula, Ondřej Malý, Jan Hartl / Contact BUC-FILM, s.r.o. / Distributor Falcon a.s.

About the director

Radim Špaček (b. 1973, Ostrava, Czechoslovakia). Filmography: Young Men Discovering the World (1996), Sleepless Nights (2004), Walking Too Fast (2009), Places (2014), The World Below (2017, TV series), Golden Sting (2018)