Don’t Be Angry, Ukraine

Zdarsky’s ski binding, skiing style, a bivouac sack, a mountain in the Antarctic, a chalet in the Alps, a museum, several street names – this is the list of things and places that bear the name of Mathias Zdarsky, a native of Třebíč and a founder of Alpine skiing. Thanks to him the magic of snow covered slopes enchanted first crowds from Vienna and later skiing enthusiasts from all over the world.

They all wish to lead an ordinary life. What happened after the wedding was beyond their imagination. This documentary tells a story of five women who were psychologically and physically abused by their partner/husband and found the strength to talk about their horrifying experience.

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.

A look at a forgotten chapter in modern Czech history. The “armed fist of the working class,” formed from various factory guard units on the instigation of the Czechoslovak Communist Party, began operating under the guidance of the Central Union Committee in May 1945. After the communist takeover in 1948, the People’s Militia was sent upon orders of the Communist Party to “defend” the borders or to act against students, farmers, the church, demonstrators protesting the currency reform. Their actions against anti-regime gatherings in 1969 resulted in several deaths. They also acted brutally during the demonstrations in Prague in 1988 and 1989.

Not many people know that the self-immolations of Jan Palach and Jan Zajíc were followed by the same tragic act of protest committed by Evžen Plocek in the early April of 1969 in Jihlava. What was the meaning of his deed back then and what can we see in it today? A documentary about the meaning of human sacrifice and about the incident that was long kept secret by the communists and still remains largely undiscussed.

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. 

The film combines the personal story of famous actor Jan Potměšil with the historical events of 1989. Students and actors had a great influence on the origin and course of the Velvet Revolution. They participated in demonstrations, went on strikes, but mainly tried to inform even the remote regions of what was happening. One of them, Jan Potměšil, paid a high price for this activity – on his return home after meeting up with some miners in Ostrava, he got into a collision with another car. The others escaped unscathed, but he was paralyzed for life. With a strong willpower and positive attitude to life, he managed to return not only to everyday life, but also to his profession.

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.

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.

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. 

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.

They are driven by forces we are unable to control. No one knows what they actually experience or why they are so much affected by the Moon. They live among us, entrenched in their everyday hell on earth – families and children with severe autism. This form of autism is called low-functional. It is one of the most demanding and worst manageable health impairments. Those who suffer from the disorder have great difficulties to become part of our society. The documentary portrays four families with children of various ages and their situation.