Czech films - full length
Actress
Iva Janžurová – acting icon, mother, grandmother, wife, partner, lover, friend and classmate in a feature-length documentary by her daughter and director Theodora Remundová. Thanks to the director's original intention, we get a glimpse into the personality of the popular actress through her memories of her parents and childhood, the loves of her life, motherhood and the pivotal moments that shaped her character and life. In the film, we witness many intimate, serious and joyful moments, memories, reflections and encounters of Iva Janžurová - with her daughters over old love correspondence, at family celebrations, at a class reunion, with her childhood best friend, with her acting colleagues in the theatre, with Marta Kubišová, with whom she welcomed Alexander Dubček upon his return from Moscow in 1968.
director: Theodora Remundová
original title: Janžurka
country: Czech Republic, Slovakia
year: 2024
running time: 110 min.
Artwashing
A documentary tour of the most important works of the Czech artwashing scene, which will take the audience through the works and institutions that have aroused controversy and debate among the artistic and professional public. The main question associated with them is whether the work or institution reflects an authentic and legitimate interest in art on the part of its donors or whether it is merely a utilitarian effort to use it as a tool to improve its public reputation and image.
director: Jaroslav Kratochvíl
original title: Artwashing
country: Czech Republic
year: 2024
running time: 26 min.
Don't Give Up – Cable Car from a Bird's Eye View
The city of Brno is preparing the construction of a large-capacity cable car to connect the exhibition centre in Pisárky with the university campus in Bohunice. However, the implementation of the project could disrupt the lives of dozens of protected animals and destroy the roosting habitat of raven birds. All this in a situation where either a trolleybus or a tram can already be used for transport. Is the planned cable car an important piece of the Brno public transport puzzle, or an example of the failure of the responsible nature conservation authorities?
director: Zuzana Arnadová
original title: Nedej se – Lanovka z ptačí perspektivy
country: Czech Republic
year: 2024
running time: 18 min.
Don't Give Up – Farmagedon
Millions of farm animals live together with humans in the Czech Republic. They often survive in appalling conditions. For example, over 350 cattle have died on the pastures in the Ore Mountains town of Měděnec in two years, and OBRAZ recently highlighted the living conditions of chickens in some Czech farms. The only thing that often determines the quality of life of animals is the economics of the operation. Is there any way of making life easier for these creatures before their bodies become a meat packet?
director: Martin Slunečko
original title: Nedej se – Farmagedon
country: Czech Republic
year: 2024
running time: 18 min.
Don't Give Up – The Czech Path to Lithium
According to surveys, one of Europe's largest lithium deposits is located in Cínovec. Two thirds of it is found on the Czech side and one third on the German side. Both countries plan to start mining, but their processes may differ significantly. And, depending on the route taken, the environmental impact and quality of life for the local population may also differ.
director: Soňa Göblová
original title: Nedej se – Česká cesta k lithiu
country: Czech Republic
year: 2023
running time: 18 min.
Juráček Is My Destiny
Daňa Horáková, the wife of director Pavel Juráček, has written a harrowing book about her cohabitation with the director, one of the representatives of the new film wave of the 1960s. Juráček, the cursed poet of the screen, screenwriter and director, author of the award-winning films A Character to Prop and The Case for a Budding Executioner, and author of two voluminous volumes of his diaries. The idea for a film about two strange personalities came about after reading Dani Horáková's book about life with Pavel Juráček. The book is a very refined confession, a desperate life inventory, an indictment of the normalization regime in Czechoslovakia, which took away people's hopes of continuing their professions and sometimes their very existence. It is "An anatomy of a relationship, of a time, of creation, of love and hate", wrote Olga Sommerová, the author of the theme and director of the film, in the introduction.
director: Olga Sommerová
original title: Juráček je můj osud
country: Czech Republic
year: 2024
running time: 78 min.
Right to Choose
The story of three Polish women who, in a difficult life situation, found help from the volunteer organization Ciocia Czesia, which helps to mediate abortions in the Czech Republic for those women who are prevented by the restrictive abortion law in Poland.
director: Robin Lipo
original title: Právo volby
country: Czech Republic, Poland
year: 2024
running time: 51 min.
Sailing for Ice
The documentary charts a voyage of almost 2,000 nautical miles across the Arctic Ocean. But the expedition to places where frost and ice reign supreme was no mere adventure. The film adaptation by director Vladimír Šimek gives the viewer a glimpse into the authentic atmosphere of these wild places, to experience the stunning, yet so fragile beauty that goes beyond the simple human imagination. In addition to educating and entertaining, the film crew has prepared for its viewers an extraordinary aesthetic experience that shows us in a non-violent way how vulnerable our planet is if we do not change our emissions policy.
director: Vladimír Šimek
original title: Plavba za ledem
country: Czech Republic
year: 2024
running time: 53 min.
Searching for J. A. Pitínský
A documentary portrait of the leading Czech theatre director Jan Antonín Pitínský, who has been involved in theatre since the 1980s. In 1985 he founded the Ochotnicky kroužek Brno, where he soon came to prominence with his productions of F. Kafka's Amerika and Matka (Mother), which he wrote himself. After the Velvet Revolution, he began directing at many theatre venues in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. He has won several Alfréd Radok Awards, and in 2007 he was awarded the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic. His work has influenced the next generation of theatre directors and filmmakers. His most recent production is The Search for Lost Time at the National Theatre in Brno, which he staged in 2019. During his career, he has also been an active playwright, poet and writer.
director: Robin Kvapil
original title: Hledání J. A. Pitínského
country: Czech Republic
year: 2024
running time: 56 min.
The Body in My Head
What is body shaming and what are its consequences? People who have responded to the TV challenge come to the studio to talk about their experiences with bullying, ridicule and unsolicited criticism from those around them. At first glance, few would think that they might have a problem. Although they appear to be ordinary, good-looking people, in their minds they feel inadequate. They're addicted to exercise, bulimic, anorexic, depressed. They come to share previously unspoken emotions to help others fight prejudice and mean comments. They are accompanied by experienced guides - psychologist Jan Kulhánek, plus size model Natálie Debnárová, actress Bára Jánová and rapper Raego.
director: Dagmar Smržová
original title: Tělo v mé hlavě
country: Czech Republic
year: 2024
running time: 66 min.
When Your Life Is Not Your Own
The phenomenon of negative manipulation is known to all of us, and very few of us can always defend ourselves and not have at least some remorse. And when the source of the manipulation is a supposed good, but it harms rather than helps and is part of a huge mental massage in a cult, we have a big problem. What effect can negative manipulation have on our lives? How to detect it and defend ourselves? We illustrate the topic with the story of Dusan Straus, a photographer and writer who got into the Chinmoy sect. Gradually, he left his job and started to devote himself only to the affairs of the sect. His wife hoped that it was only momentary, but he fell into the sect completely. The world outside the sect ceased to exist for him.
director: Iva Tereza Grosskopfová
original title: Když tvůj život není tvůj
country: Czech Republic
year: 2024
running time: 26 min.