Brothers Beyond the Grave

Painter, wood-carver, typesetter, printer, writer, and poet Josef Váchal was one of the most distinctive artists of the 20th century. He left behind an extensive body of work, in which his monumental book – a kind of modern codex devoted to his great love, the Bohemian Forest – holds a remarkable place. With The Bohemian Forest: Dying, Romantic, the inveterate wanderer and pilgrim Josef Váchal offers an enduring testemony of the ancient face of the Bohemian Forest and its inimitable and disappearing beauty. 

On the one hand, one of the most distinctive representatives of Czech alternative theatre, whose dramatic range spans several artistic categories. On the other hand, the child of dissidents who were forced to leave their homeland and adapt to conditions in a foreign land. Both sides to Halka Třešňáková come together in a profession that allows her to express her personal feelings. This portrait of an artist, actress and performer documents her artistic work as well as the circumstances that influenced her adolescence in a family that stood up against the totalitarian regime.

In order to draw attention to the damage done to the environment, activists won't hesitate to hang a banner on the smokestack of a power plant, climb up a mining tower or protest at the bottom of a coal mine. Civil protests have always been a part of democracy and environmental protection. In recent years, however, there have been cases where activists are threatened with prosecution for non-violent protests. Does climate change also come with a “change in climate” in our society? Will people who peacefully protest against environmental damage end up in prison?

Perhaps everyone knows of the footage of the crackdown on demonstrators at Národní třída on November 17th, 1989. Jan Slezák, Milan Danišovič and Jiří Laňka were involved in suppressing the demonstration on November 17th, 1989, albeit to a different degree. Jan Slezák was the commander of the company of the Emergency Regiment for Public Security and at the time of the crackdown, he waited in the emergency room as a backup. Milan Danišovič commanded the entire intervention. Jiří Laňka was a member of the special unit of the Ministry of the Interior, known as the "red berets."

The life of Lída Baarová possesses all the features of a Greek tragedy. Beauty, love, fame, betrayal, rejection, punishment, escape, loss of home, and finally reconciliation at a wise old age. And all this is accompanied by the dramatic political events of the 20th century, which touched everyone, all the more so this women of exceptional beauty, ambition, and fame.

Humans are the only living beings that consciously destroy the environment and landscape in which they live. Perhaps it is because we are incapable of nurturing our inner landscape, which we also often consciously destroy. The inner and outer landscapes are communicating vessels that reflect one another, and yoga can be one way of cultivating them.

They like to travel and take pictures. But how to use a camera as a professional photographer and take photos that blow your mind? Jan Šmíd, who will be our guide in Budapest, asked his friend, photo reporter Jan Šibík, to help him. Together, they will explore Secessionist coffee houses as well as trendy bars and night clubs that spring up in the courtyards of old and abandoned burgher houses of the Hungarian capital.

In 1994, Alfréd Wetzler and Rudolf Vrba miraculously escaped from Auschwitz, driven by the conviction that they must inform the world about the horrors being committed at the camp. However, they soon discovered that few people were interested in them, as if nobody wanted to know about the Jewish suffering in the factories of death!

"One Jew meets another. Heeeey, how's it going? Jew know, could be ghetta." A film as a living anthology of jokes about foreigners and minorities, and their analysis from a historical, social, and political point of view. Czechs' views of other nations, ethnic groups, and minorities through contemporary jokes. A whirlwind of beer-hall jokes, put under the microscope by academics in white suits.

At age 36, Jakub Hrůša was awarded the Sir Charles Mackerras Prize for his contribution to presenting the work of Leoš Janáček – just a few meters from the place in Brno where the great composer wrote the score to The Makropulos Affair. Exactly one month after receiving the award, Hrůša makes his debut with the Vienna State Opera for a new production of the opera. A documentary about one of the most difficult tasks in the young conductor’s career.

The Bikes for Africa charitable project has been operating in the Czech Republic since 2012. Its mission is to offer African children a way of getting to school. The project is founded on the principles of giving, volunteerism, cooperation, and people’s personal initiative. One interesting paradox is the fact that the project involves people from the margins of society (prisoners, homeless people), who recieve a “second chance,” thus giving the project not only a humanitarian, but also an environmental dimension involving the “ecology of the soul.” The film shows all these aspects of the project, set against the journey of one particular bicycle donated by a Czech girl to her Gambian peer. 

Architect Josef Pleskot can be described as one of the best known and most respected contemporary Czech architects. Pleskot has earned many awards since the 1990s, and his designs regularly represent Czech architecture at international exhibitions.