27th Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival
Czech Television Documentaries
Svou dokumentární tvorbu za uplynulý rok představuje Česká televize již tradičně v Horáckém divadle jednak formou ukázek z nejnovějších dokumentárních cyklů a seriálů a jednak prostřednictvím solitérních televizních i distribučních koprodukčních snímků s následnými besedami s tvůrci.
Současné kultuře se věnuje například film Slobodanky Radun „La Fabrika“ o renomovaném multifunkčním prostoru, který za patnáct let své existence hostil umělce a soubory považované za špičky ve svých oborech. Současnou ženskou písničkářskou scénu mapuje seriál Dagmar Smržové „Muzikantky“. Historická témata zpracovává například Miloš Šmídmajer a Martin Slunečko ve filmu „František Kriegel: Sám proti Moskvě“, anebo v nevšedním portrétu A. Dubčeka „Všichni lidé budou bratři“ režisér Robert Kirchhoff. Originální a místy až úsměvné ohlédnutí za lockdownem prostřednictvím herečky V. Hybnerové, písničkářky Radůzy, teologa T. Halíka či provozovatelů vleku na horách a kavárny ve městě přináší film „Stop Time“ režiséra Davida Čálka. Současná témata zkoumá v oceňovaném snímku „Váleční reportéři“ Petr Jančárek, anebo Natálie Císařovská v „Byznysu s nadějí“.
Freezing eggs today allows women to delay the ticking of the biological clock. In the Czech Republic, we already have almost fifty centres where these procedures are carried out. Moreover, after the pandemic wave, the number of women who have undergone this procedure has multiplied. It is therefore currently an unmissable demographic phenomenon that is making a significant contribution to population growth. In the long term, however, the statistics do not inspire much optimism.
A Hopeful Business
Natálie Císařovská
Czech Republic / 2023 / 26 min.
section: Czech Television Documentaries
The film already had its Czech Premiere
The documentary follows in the footsteps of the controversial personality of František Kriegel, M.D., who was born into a Jewish family in Halych, saved lives as a frontline doctor in Spain, China, Burma and India, and after World War II joined the service of the Communist Party and the People's Militia. In 1968, he became one of the main representatives of our state and was the only member of the kidnapped delegation to save face and not officially condemn "fraternal aid," which had significant professional and social consequences for him.
A Lonely Voice Against Moscow
Martin Slunečko, Miloslav Šmídmajer
Czech Republic / 2023 / 52 min.
section: Czech Television Documentaries
The film already had its Czech Premiere
ALL MEN BECOME BROTHERS is a documentary film about the utopian political pop star Alexander Dubček. During both the period of the Iron Curtain and a united Europe.
All Men Become Brothers
Robert Kirchhoff
Slovakia, Czech Republic / 2023 / 116 min.
section: Czech Television Documentaries
The film already had its Czech Premiere
An unconventional portrait of Emma Srncová, a painter, artist and occasional actress.
Emma in the Sky
Karel Smyczek
Czech Republic / 2023 / 52 min.
section: Czech Television Documentaries
World Premiere
Ing. Ivo Špalj (born 1940) is the father of Czech film sound and through him we can get a glimpse into the various phases of the sound engineering profession. Adéla Špaljová's tender documentary shows "Engi", as he is known in the industry, in his further collaboration with Jan Švankmajer, whose films he gave a typical, dense, sophisticated sound. During his sixty-year career, Engi contributed to hundreds of films and became a mentor for at least one generation of sound engineers.
Engi – Sound Designer Ivo Špalj
Adéla Špaljová
Czech Republic / 2023 / 70 min.
section: Czech Television Documentaries
The film already had its Czech Premiere
An eight-part documentary series that maps the contemporary female songwriting scene. It presents a number of Czech female singer-songwriters, musicians, lyricists, and poets, allowed by the modern age to play almost anything and anywhere, presenting their work to listeners instantly, online, de facto from the kitchen. We will show you an episode called "Buřičské", where you will see Dasa Vokata, Nikola Mucha and Tereza Lavicka.
Female Musicians: Rebellious
Dagmar Smržová
Czech Republic / 2023 / 26 min.
section: Czech Television Documentaries
World Premiere
The documentary First of May explores the more than a century-long evolution of the celebration and the meaning of this day. The structure is composed of memories, newspaper excerpts, testimonies found in archives, etc. - all these passages are brought to life by the actors' voices, taking on the roles of journalists, factory workers, policemen, workers and ordinary people who watch May Day, sometimes with interest and verve, sometimes with distance or irony.
First of May
Petr Smělík
Czech Republic / 2023 / 55 min.
section: Czech Television Documentaries
The film already had its Czech Premiere
The documentary film about La Fabrika theatre presents a generous multifunctional cultural space that has gained a great reputation on the Czech cultural scene in the 15 years of its existence. It is home to several dance companies, not only classical but also alternative theatre and cabaret, concerts and festivals. The success of La Fabrika is evidenced by the number of artists who are among the top in their field and who regularly return to La Fabrika, thus shaping its genius loci.
La Fabrika
Slobodanka Radun
Czech Republic / 2023 / 52 min.
section: Czech Television Documentaries
The film already had its Czech Premiere
The Plastic People of the Universe was formed in 1968. The trial of the band members in 1976 initiated the creation of Charter 77. During the so-called normalisation period, the band was banned. The musicians started performing together again in 1997. The last concert of The Plastic People of the Universe together with the Brno Philharmonic took place on 20 November 2021 in Broumov. How did the members of the legendary band The Plastic People of the Universe experience the last concert of their career?
Life Is but a Wheel of Justice
Břetislav Rychlík
Czech Republic / 2023 / 26 min.
section: Czech Television Documentaries
The film already had its Czech Premiere
There is no functioning democratic society without NGOs. They operate where the state cannot reach. At the same time, trust in the non-profit sector is consistently low in our country - according to a recent survey, 60 percent of adults do not trust them. Using the stories of several non-profit organizations as a backdrop, the documentary explores the current attitude of Czechs towards donations and the paradox resulting from the constant distrust of the non-profit sector on the one hand and the growing generosity of Czechs on the other.
Live in a Non-Profit
Markéta Oddfish Nešlehová
Czech Republic / 2023 / 26 min.
section: Czech Television Documentaries
The film already had its Czech Premiere
A documentary about the various forms of the desire for perfection. Director Eva Tomanová uses the stories of four protagonists to show the motivations that lead people to often unrealistic aspirations, and explores why and at what cost they aspire to fulfil them. She reflects on how treacherous the process of reaching the ideal is and how easy it is to get lost on the road to perfection.
Praise Me!
Eva Tomanová
Czech Republic / 2023 / 54 min.
section: Czech Television Documentaries
The film already had its Czech Premiere
A film about the friendship of musician Miroslav Wanek and artist Martin Velíšek, connected by their collaboration and especially the band Už jsme doma. It was directed by Václav Kučera, who died in 2019, and completed years later by Radim Špaček. Similarly, producer Romek Hanzlík died in 2019 and the film was completed by Petr Koza in his company KOZA Film, s.r.o.
Put the Light On, so We Can See
Radim Špaček
Czech Republic / 2023 / 93 min.
section: Czech Television Documentaries
World Premiere
There are currently 41 assisted reproduction clinics in the Czech Republic. Their annual turnover reaches billions. Is it still medicine or a business without ethical rules? Where does interest in fetal health end, and where does modern eugenics with its catalogue of babies on demand begin? Where does the urgent need for donated gametes end, and questions about what to do with "excess" embryos begin?
Reproduction 2.0
Kateřina Hrochová
Czech Republic / 2023 / 52 min.
section: Czech Television Documentaries
World Premiere
We had a unique moment. Czech Republic without tourists, mountains without skiers, empty streets, shops, all of this suddenly seemed almost magical. A different view of reality opened up to us. Free from descriptiveness, focused on the essential things that make life worth living. The main heroes of the film are frozen time, David Chmelař, a tugboat driver, Vanda Hybnerová, an actress, Tomáš Halík, a priest and philosopher, Havel Parkán, a café owner, and Radůza, a singer. They all agreed at the beginning that this is a time that is an opportunity to make a difference.
Stop Time
David Čálek
Czech Republic / 2022 / 92 min.
section: Czech Television Documentaries
The film already had its Czech Premiere
A historical social documentary about thousands of Greek children who fled the civil war and found a home in Czechoslovakia.
Storm Children
George Agathonikiadis
Czech Republic / 2023 / 52 min.
section: Czech Television Documentaries
Czech Premiere
1953 was a year of great sadness for Czechoslovak citizens. Obligatory mourning intervened in their lives after the deaths of Stalin and Gottwald. Their grief was sincere because of the currency reform, which ruined their lifelong savings. In retrospect, 1953 was the height of social despair.
The Great Sadness
Pavel Štingl
Czech Republic / 2023 / 52 min.
section: Czech Television Documentaries
The film already had its Czech Premiere
Children in the Vysočina region miss the forests that climate change and the bark beetle calamity have taken away. How do they cope with this loss and how does the School Forest project help? Environmentalist Barbora Klocová sought answers to these and many other questions. She filmed a total of 31 personal interviews with children and adolescents from the Highlands aged 8 to 18.
The Grief of the Forest
Barbora Klocová
Czech Republic / 2023 / 26 min.
section: Czech Television Documentaries
The film already had its Czech Premiere
The documentary film presents in an unconventional way the personality of Zdeněk Neubauer, a peculiar philosopher, scientist, academic, mystic and mycologist, dissident and friend of Václav Havel, who became an expert on everything he turned his attention to - and yet he preferred to walk barefoot. Zdeněk Neubauer simply enjoyed thinking - and he knew how to pass on his enthusiasm.
The Joy of Thinking
Tomáš Škrdlant
Czech Republic / 2023 / 52 min.
section: Czech Television Documentaries
World Premiere
The documentary Farma Květná follows the fate of three young men who have hit rock bottom, living in orphanages, in detention centres, on the streets. Now they have found work, and with it an unrecognised sense of meaning and self-worth, at Farm Květná, founded by former Interior Ministry official Ferdinand Raditsch. In it, he offers unorthodox support to those whose circumstances have destined them for an unfavourable starting line.
The Květná Farm
Jan Gebert
Czech Republic / 2023 / 26 min.
section: Czech Television Documentaries
The film already had its Czech Premiere
Bohumil Modrý, the best hockey goalie in the world, who significantly contributed to the first international successes of Czechoslovak hockey after World War II. In 1948, he was offered a job in the NHL, but his stellar sports career and happy family life were destroyed by a trumped-up political trial in 1950. He died prematurely in 1963 at the age of 46 from the effects of imprisonment and radiation.
The Modrý Case
Roman Vávra
Czech Republic / 2023 / 54 min.
section: Czech Television Documentaries
The film already had its Czech Premiere
War journalism is indeed a special discipline in the world of journalism. Even elite journalists bow to the brave few who venture into conflict zones and bring quality reporting from extreme environments. And apparently even the biggest cynic perceives that their work is worthy of respect and admiration. Documentary filmmaker Petr Jančárek talks to a number of reporters, cameramen and photographers about how they see their profession.
The War Correspondents
Petr Jančárek
Czech Republic / 2023 / 52 min.
section: Czech Television Documentaries
The film already had its Czech Premiere
