Bye Bye Children's Home

A short film about a small, family-owned non-profit organisation that is helping in one of the poorest countries in the world. Thanks to their close cooperation with Carmelite missions that form more or less the only long-term stable structure in the Central African Republic, SIRIRI has been able to get close to specific people and problems. The documentary is part of the series “Czechs On A Mission”, which has the goal of presenting various types of Czech humanitarian and development aid throughout the world.

A film about people with multiple handicaps who attend school at the Jedlička Institute, a secondary school that offers students a universal course of study along with practical education for everyday life. After school, the students transition into a halfway program that forms the main focus of the film.

What happens when an entire village is made part of an art project? The story of a seemingly ordinary village that, thanks to the ideas of artist Kateřina Šedá, is turned into a living work of art

Even though one member of a group of adventuresome retirees has a wife with a tattoo, for most of them the idea of having a tattoo of their own was shocking or even repulsive – perhaps because the older generation viewed tattoos as the domain of ex-convicts or exotic sailors. In this episode of the entertaining docu-reality series, they attempted to shed their prejudices and to try out tattoos for themselves. At first through a kind of “trial”, then on their own bodies, and one even on a family member. Did the tattoo artists’ philosophy get “under their skin”? Accompanying them on their journey of discovery through the different world of the younger generation were tattoo artists Lukáš Poláček, Daniel Kovář, Jan Motýl and Chozé. The documentary is part of the “Grumbling” series.

Anyone can make miracles happen, but few of us have the courage to try. One day, Emílie Smrčková adopted a girl from an orphanage alongside her four boys. Over the next year, her family grew to 20 members. Their lives were changed forever.

From 1974 – 77 the film Vysoká hra (High Level Game) was shot at Czechoslovak Television by orders of the highest echelons of the Communist Party. Junior cameraman Martin Vadas worked on the film as a focus puller, without ever knowing anything about the film itself. Later he was surprised to recognize his images when they were broadcast, when they had been combined with inflammatory commentary about the activities of Western intelligence headquarters. In his documentary, Martin Vadas investigates the circumstances surrounding the creation of Vysoká hra, analyzing the individual participants’ conflicts with power and their own fears.

A documentary portrayal of tennis player Radek Štěpánek takes a look at his determination during tennis matches and offers an insight into the private life of this fascinating sports figure. The time-lapse documentary includes comments of his friends, e.g. Petr Čech, Pavel Nedvěd and Jaromír Jágr.

The current, widespread bark beetle infestation shows clearly that the spruce monoculture in the Czech landscape is a great problem. And yet, spruces are being replanted in places where forests should never be. The illegal planting of forests is a trend that people involved in environmental protection have been observing for several years now. Owners of land classified as meadows and pastureland are planting woodlands, primarily spruce, in defiance of the law, thus driving out endangered species of plants and animals, changing the traditional character of the landscape, and making it less attractive for visitors. 

Nicknamed “the Czech Locomotive,” Emil Zátopek held 18 world records and is best known for winning the 5 km, 10 km and marathon races at the Olympic Games in Helsinki. David Ondříček brings his grand successes back to life through interviews with his family, friends, and former competitors.

A few years ago, Michal Kody Kislicki left for Ukraine to search for his true self. Soon after his arrival he decided to help in the war-torn region of Donbass where he set up NGO Chuť pomáhat. Finally, he found much more than he had expected – the meaning of life, faith in God and his wife Ksushu.

This documentary analyses the quality of infowar and the effects of disinformation in the Czech Republic. It tries to find out who is behind false reports that spread mainly through social networks and so called conspiracy webs. The film also tries to answer the question whether these false reports, stories and emotions are spread as part of Russian propaganda and whether those Czechs who are for various reasons unhappy with the direction their country chose after 1989 are in on the scheme.

The great journey around the world comes to an end! Dan Přibáň leads the yellow Trabants on their final cross-continental voyage in style as the yellow circus heads home from India. They cross the Himalayas, breaks altitude records and flees from the police. Even though the going gets tough on more than one occasion, the international Czech-Slovak-Polish crew fights against all the odds with black humor and self-irony.