That Moment: Classmates Among the Tanks

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

Being a civic activist, Ukrainian film director and screenwriter of Russian origins Oleg Sencov openly spoke up against the annexation of Crimea. Subsequently, he was arrested by the Russian Security Service and accused, among other crimes, of planning terrorist attacks. The evidence produced and the development of the trial made many doubt his guilt and caused a number of international protests. The current Russia and a chilling probe into the way how its legal system operates.

The largest antelope in the world, the giant eland, lives in the Senegalese savannah and is on the verge of extinction. Its numbers hover somewhere around the last two hundred individuals. A team led by engineer Karolína Brandlová has managed something unprecedented: At the Bandia Reservation just a few kilometers from the country’s capital, they have succeeded – through careful breeding and with the help of Senegalese preservationists and the operators of a local safari – to turn a group of just six antelopes into a herd numbering several dozen animals. The second episode of a documentary series hosted by Dan Bárta about endangered animals throughout the world.

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… 

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.

Their parents came to Czechoslovakia in August 1968 along with the occupying forces. Today, these “children of Milovice” find themselves on opposing sides in the Russo-Ukrainian conflict. These “brothers,” destined for “friendship for all eternity,” are now shooting at one another. How do the children of the former officers stationed in Milovice see the contemporary Czech Republic and Russia? 

Martin Rajniš, the “enfant terrible” of Czech architecture, refuses to accept the current state of his field and of society in general. He is just as “terrible” as the French architect Pierre Charles L’Enfant, who designed Washington, D.C., for President Thomas Jefferson. According to one version, the expression “enfant terrible” was inspired by the fact that L’Enfant was extremely difficult to work with. Today, however, it often describes someone original, daring, and direct. The documentary captures Rajniš’s inspirational approach and his working process – both at his studio in Prague and at his country cottage in the village of Maxov in the Jizera Mountains.

A look at the lives of three photographers. Josef Koudelka, Antonín Kratochvíl, and the Moravian photographer Vojta Dukát all spent the majority of their lives outside Czechoslovakia. The film explores the differences in their work, which often shares similar themes, places, or encounters.

A look at the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra’s incredible tour of Romany settlements in eastern Slovakia and its collaboration with Ida Kelarová, the Čhavorenge ensemble, and local Romany children who had ten days to learn the songs that they performed on stage with members of the philharmonic.

Rooting for something or someone has always been part of human culture. It would be hard to find a single human being who does not support anything and anyone. Sports fan form a special category, but unfortunately we mainly hear of them in the context of violence at stadiums or in the streets. But there is a poetic side to this fandom that often remains hidden to the eyes of TV news audience.

The path of Petr Zuska to grand dance and choreography led from the Prague Chamber Ballet, the ballet ensemble of the National Theatre, the Bayerisches Staatsballett in Munich and Les Grands Ballets Canadiens to the post of the head of the National Theatre Ballet where he spent the last 15 years. This documentary maps his work during his last year as the head of the National Theatre Ballet.

Three stories about the youngest generation of “digital natives” for whom the Internet became an endless source of entertainment and communication as well as of new dangers. Most today’s children can use a computer or a mobile phone before they learn to tie shoelaces and ride a bicycle. New generations of children who spent much more time in a virtual world than on a playground are growing up all over the world.