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F CZECH FILMS 2018–2019 FICTION CZECH FICTION FILMS 2018–2019 WWW.FILMCENTER.CZ | WWW.FONDKINEMATOGRAFIE.CZ CZECH fiction FILMS 2018–2019 Published by Czech Film Fund. Czech Film Center division of the Czech Film Fund Dukelských hrdinů 47 170 00 Prague 7 Czech Republic Statistical information provided by the Union of Film Distributors and the Czech Statistical Office. catalogue editor: Barbora Ligasová, Vladimíra Chytilová text editor: Denisa Štrbová graphic design: Cellula – Pavel Rakušan printed by: Uniprint print run: 600 not for sale © Státní fond kinematografie, 2019 2 CZECH FICTION FILMS 2018–2019 January 2019 marks the start of the Czech Film Fund’s seventh year in existence. I would contend that in the last six years the fund has become a stable state institution and a partner of equal standing to similar institutions abroad. Through stabilized, compound financing, support for all kinds of genres and formats, independence and transparency in grant adjudication, and not least through the high level of funding provided to minority (and other) co-production films over the last three years, the fund has been able to help Czech producers collaborate on attractive European projects. For the third year now, the Czech Film Fund has included the Czech Film Center, which cooperates with international festivals, consults programmers about current Czech films, and recommends films for potential inclusion in programs. Hence, the Czech Film Center works with films that the fund has financed from the outset, from the initial screenplay, to development, and through to production. The Czech Republic may be a small country, but it is a great one. And it is a country of great film talents: Miloš Forman, František Vláčil, Jiří Menzel, Věra Chytilová, Jan Švankmajer, Jan Svěrák, as well as many others. We are the country that made the most beautiful version of Cinderella, we are a country with a cinematic tradition, and with prospects for the future. Over the last seven years I have tried on a daily basis to keep the fund ready to support the incredible talent we are gifted with. Thanks in particular to the increased financial resources available since 2016, it has been possible to give bigger grants to many uniquely interesting projects that await distribution this year, which I believe will bear out my hopes for wonderful talent our country has to offer. Helena Bezděk Fraňková director of the Czech Film Fund CZECH FICTION FILMS 2018–2019 3 INTRODUction With the beginning of new year, we take a look back at the just finished year 2018, presenting an overview of what’s been dished up, as well as what’s cooking, in Czech cinema. IN THEATRES Thirty-eight Czech fiction films vied for domestic eyeballs last year. As in past years, the biggest box-office draws were comedies aimed at Czech audiences, while the films that represented the country at festivals abroad were not big commercial hits. Which films made it at home, which found success abroad, and what exciting projects are underway right now? The top five rungs on the 2018 box-office chart, far above the competition, were pop and satirical comedies and children’s movies. The most successful Czech film of 2018 was the comedy What Men Long For, directed by Rudolf Havlík. More than half a million people went to see this movie about a cynical chauvinist who one day wakes up in a woman’s body. In second place, with 300,000 tickets sold, was the comedy Patrimony, by Jiří Vejdělek, the seasoned director of such popular films as Men in Hope and Women in Temptation. Third and fourth spots went to “fairytale movies,” a phenomenon typical for the Czech Republic, with its long tradition of feature-length fiction films made for parents and children. Devilry, by controversial director Zdeněk Troška, who is known also for the pulp series Babovřesky, drew 270,000 viewers. The fourth most popular Czech film of 2018 was The Magic Quill, marking another big success for versatile director Marek Najbrt. Using nearly the same team of screenwriters, Najbrt also had a box-office hit with the political satire President Blaník, a feature- length version of the series Kancelář Blaník, which was originally made for the online platform Stream.cz. INTERnational ACHIEVEMENTS: FLIES AND OTHER Insects And which Czech films were best received in foreign markets and festivals? One of last year’s most successful films was a surrealist freak show, combining animation with feature film, from a master of the genre: Insect, by Jan Švankmajer. After premiering at the IFF Rotterdam, the film, which the director says will be his last, appeared at a number of other foreign festivals to a largely positive response. Another feature film that made a good impression at international festivals was the drama Winter Flies, the story of two boys coming of age, directed by Czech young talent Olmo Omerzu. The film, which the Czech Republic put forward as its Oscar submission, won the award for Best Director at the Karlovy Vary IFF and screened at the Toronto festival, the BFI London, the Cinekid festival of children’s films, and others. Another talented young director who has seen significant success is Adam Sedlák, whose feature debut Domestique, a psychological thriller about a top cyclist, was selected for the main competition at the Karlovy Vary IFF. And Ondřej Novák and Jiří Havlíček saw their short directing debut, Reconstruction, introduced in the competitive section of the prestigious Locarno Festival, Pardi di domani section. Produced by Dagmar Sedláčková (MasterFilm), Reconstruction is the compelling story of a boy who has committed a terrible crime. COPRODUctions: AN EasieR WAY to Reach THE WORLD Coproductions, too, continued to thrive last year. The Romanian experimental drama Touch Me Not, which involved Czech producers from PINK, took the Golden Bear at the Berlinale, where the Slovak-Czech film The Interpreter, by director Martin Šulík, also screened. Jiří Menzel, the legendary director of the Czechoslovak New Wave, who won the Berlinale Kamera Award in Berlin, played one of the main roles. Thanks to coproduction efforts, a Czech film also appeared in Cannes last year: Fugue, a drama by Polish director Agnieszka Smoczyńska, coproduced by Czech producer Karla Stojáková (Axman Production), was selected for Cannes Critics’ Week, while Radu Jude’s I Do Not Care If We Go Down in History as Barbarians won a crystal globe at the Karlovy Vary IFF and was screened at many other international festivals. 4 CZECH FICTION FILMS 2018–2019 Czech PaRticiPation IN COPRODUction MARKETS Numerous Czech projects were presented at coproduction markets to favorable response. Two Czech projects have been selected for the coproduction forum When East Meets West, in Trieste: Caravan, by Zuzana Špidlová (produced by nutprodukce – Pavla Janoušková Kubečková), and Plague, by Jan Těšitel (produced by Sirena Film – Petra Oplatková, Artemio Benki). Three Czech projects were presented to festival curators, film producers, sales agents, and distributors at the international industry event Meeting Point – Vilnius: By a Sharp Knife (Slovakia/Czech Republic), a political drama directed by Teodor Kuhn and produced by Jakub Viktorín together with Czech production nutprodukce; Domestique, the promising debut by director Adam Sedlák, working with producer Jakub Jíra (Shore Points); and Japan, by director and producer Pavel Ruzyak. Also presented at the Venice Gap Financing Market were The Prague Orgy, by director Irena Pavlásková, based on the novel by Phillip Roth. The Prague Orgy depicts a 1976 journey to the capital of Communist Czechoslovakia by Roth’s alter ego Nathan Zuckerman. Apart from offering help to banned writers, Zuckerman is looking to rescue a Yiddish author’s unique collection of short stories and smuggle it out of the country. Czech children’s narrative project Martin and the Forest Secret (director Petr Oukropec, produced by Peter Badač, BFILM.cz) was selected for the Warsaw Kids Film Forum and was also recognized at the Riga IFF Forum where the film got the postproduction award. The Ugly Mandarine (directed by Piaoyu Xie, produced by Analog Vision – Veronika Kührová, Michal Kráčmer) presented in Cottbus, as did director Michal Blaško’s project Victim. At the works in progress at Agora market in Thessaloniki, the project Cook, F**k, Kill by director Mira Fornay was presented, as was Oroslan by Matjaž Ivanišin. Czech film project The Pack was selected for the Asian Project Market at the Busan International Film Festival. Director Tomáš Polenský’s debut, produced by Julietta Sichel (8Heads Production) in coproduction with Ego Media from Latvia, was the first Czech project to be picked for this coproduction platform. And last but not least, The Nightsiren by Tereza Nvotová, produced by Miloš Lochman (and Peter Badač from Slovakia), won the Eurimages award at the MIA coproduction forum in Rome. IN THE WORKS: NARRatiVE PROJects Last year saw a number of promising projects in the development and production stages that received support from the Czech Film Fund. These were the three that received the most funding: Havel, a biographical work about a major figure in modern Czech history, to be filmed by director Slávek Horák (a Tvorba Films production), received support of € 557,692. Another biographical film, Zatopek, about the celebrated Czech runner, is being prepared by David Ondříček, with Lucky Man Films, and was awarded funding of € 576,923. The historical project Shadows Country sees veteran director Bohdan Sláma and producer Martin Růžička (Luminar Film) return to events on the Czech border after the end of World War II, and was funded with the amount of € 423,077. PROJects IN THE MAKING Noteworthy Czech films of all types have premieres approaching. Upcoming fiction films include the long- awaited The Painted Bird from director and producer Václav Marhoul, based on Jerzy Kosinski’s controversial book of the same name about a Jewish boy enduring the horrors of war.

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