24th Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival
The Second Republic
director: Aleš Koudela
original title: Druhá republika
country: Czech Republic
year: 2018
running time: 52 min.
synopsis
The Second Republic was relatively short-lived. But those few months were one of the most dramatic and important periods in our history. In 1938 in Munich, all the ideals and values on which Czechoslovakia had been built came crumbling down. Czech society ceased to believe in democracy and began to admire authoritarian fascist governments. At the same time, hundreds of thousands of refugees fled the occupied Sudetenland for what remained of the country, but nobody wanted to take them in. The media was subjected to censorship, and an aggressive strain of anti-Semitism appeared among the Czech population. And on top of it all, there were further territorial demands by Germany, Poland, and Hungary, and separatist tendencies in Slovakia.
more about film
| director: | Aleš Koudela |
| producer: | Lenka Poláková |
| script: | Aleš Koudela, Martin Pekárek |
| photography: | Tomáš Nikel, David Rojíček |
| editing: | Jaromír Vašek |
| sound: | Petr Pokorný, Jakub Krajíček |
other films in the section
Is it possible to share your life with someone who has a different faith than you? What are the pitfalls of such a relationship, and how can it be enriching? A new series about people who show that differences don’t have to be divisive. Festival audiences will see the third episode of the series.
Until Faith Do Us Part
Josef Fišer, Bedřich Jetelina, Petr Kotrla, Michaela Rozbrojová
Czech Republic / 2015 / 67 min.
section: Czech Television Documentaries
After its successful documentary film featuring interviews with five abused women, Czech Television takes a look at another side of domestic violence. The stories of the film’s four male protagonists show that although the methods of violence are similar, the victims’ are in a much different position: Violence against men is usually questioned, and their partners, however manipulative and aggressive, are in a much more advantageous position, since the men, as representatives of the supposedly stronger sex, are generally not believed. The film is the first ever documentary to look at this socially taboo subject.
From Love to Hatred 2: Domestic Violence on Men
Štěpán Romuald Rob
Czech Republic / 2018 / 52 min.
section: Czech Television Documentaries
A pictorial "féerie" (fairy play) documentary evoking the long-gone landscape of the Prague periphery around Botič. Becoming a model for confrontation with its modern appearance is this unfinished screenplay by director Jiří Lehovec, photographs by Josef Sudek and pictures by Kamil Lhoták.
Images of Prague Suburbia
Josef Císařovský
Czech Republic / 2019 / 52 min.
section: Czech Television Documentaries
Rock legend Vladimír Mišík has his own little planet. It was discovered in 1995 by Czech astronomers from Kleť Observatory who named it in Mišík’s honour. And it is mostly on this very planet that Jitka Němcová’s new documentary about Vladimír Mišík and his beautiful songs takes place, reminiscing on all the weird things that happened in his life and recounting a rather thrilling search.
Let Misik Sing!
Jitka Němcová
Czech Republic / 2017 / 100 min.
section: Czech Television Documentaries
The Arhuaco are an indigenous tribe that has resisted fate for more than 400 years, but that today, because of the advanced technology of mining companies, politicians’ arrogance, and the spread of tourism find their existence threatened. Their houses are demolished by giant bulldozers. In July 2017, some 180 families were forced from their homes, and today they live in squalor in a park in the town of Puerto Bello. Their sacred sites have been burned. In response, an organization was founded in the Czech Republic to try to help the Arhuaco purchase their original lands, so that they can return…
Don’t Give Up: Hope for the Arhuaco
Iva Tereza Grosskopfová
Czech Republic / 2018 / 26 min.
section: Czech Television Documentaries
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.
Don’t Give Up: The Landscape within the Landscape
Eva Lammelová
Czech Republic / 2016 / 26 min.
section: Czech Television Documentaries
A true story about the unlikely love of a middle-aged woman from a middle-class family and a scam artist. The risk of death and hope in the form of a newborn child enter into their relationship from the least probable direction. Another chance is a perceptive psychological portrayal of a woman, her partner, and other loved ones, and at the same time a riveting testimony to the struggle for life and its meaning.
Another chance
Eva Tomanová
Czech Republic / 2019 / 75 min.
section: Czech Television Documentaries
Lada, once the largest and best manufacturer of automobiles in the Soviet Union, is today a financial disaster. In comes a seasoned Swedish manager with the job of bringing back the company’s golden era. At a meeting in the town of Tolyatti, deep in the heart of Russia, everyone comes with their own vision of the future that they do not want to compromise. The Russian Job is the story of great plans and even greater absurdity.
The Russian Job
Petr Horký
Czech Republic / 2017 / 64 min.
section: Czech Television Documentaries
Jiří Trnka was one of the greatest Czech artists of the 20th century and one of the founding fathers of puppet animation. His poetic and imaginative work starkly contrasts with the dark era of the 1950s in Czechoslovakia. His work was used by the regime as evidence that the communist society was able to provide artists with great conditions for creating works of art. The ideological race between East and West was unavoidable and affected both children and their stories.
Jiří Trnka: A Long Lost Friend
Joël Farges, Tereza Brdečková
Czech Republic, France / 2019 / 79 min.
section: Czech Television Documentaries
Where do xenophobic attitudes in society come from, and why have they been on the rise in the Czech society? Documentary filmmaker Apolena Rychlíková tries to find an answer in Brno, where the country’s neo-Nazis have come together on 1 May 2015 for a Europe-wide neo-Nazi and fascist event they are calling “For a Pure Europe.”
Intolerance: The Chill
Apolena Rychlíková
Czech Republic / 2015 / 26 min.
section: Czech Television Documentaries
Five years before Neil Armstrong first set foot on the Moon, Pan Am began selling tickets to the Moon. At the time, space fever had engulfed the whole world, including Ronald Reagan. A total of 100,000 people signed up for the "First Moon Flights" Club. What were their motivations to leave Earth and what were they hoping to find? Along with the protagonists from various parts of the world (USA, Austria, Czech Republic), the film reflects on the expectations surrounding commercial flights to the Moon.
Ticket to the Moon
Veronika Janatková
Czech Republic, Germany / 2019 / 68 min.
section: Czech Television Documentaries
Věra Bílá was once one of the largest celebrities on the Czech music scene. Together with the band Kale, she went on numerous tours of Europe, the USA, and Japan. But after leaving the band in 2006 she no longer performs in public, and her passion for gambling machines caused her to fall into debt. In 2013, her only (adopted) son passed away, followed soon after by her husband. She spent Christmas 2016 all alone in a small room. Nobody gave her any gifts. She remembers her grandmother, who survived Auschwitz, and the many downturns and insults she has had to suffer. And yet she looks forward, with faith in a new project, new energy, hope…
The Last Hope of Věra Bílá
David Vondráček, Roman Šantúr
Czech Republic / 2018 / 52 min.
section: Czech Television Documentaries
World Premiere
