The film, combining techniques of feature film and animation, produced by Czech Negativ, as a Czech-German-Slovak co-production is based on the comics trilogy of Jaroslav Rudis and Jaromir 99.
„We are very happy with the award. I am especially glad to see that the people abroad understand the film well – which is proven by this award,“ the author of the original, Jaroslav Rudis said and added that he has already spoken to the co-writer of the script, Jaromir 99, who was very happy with the decision of the jury.
Alois Nebel competed with other two nominated film – Spanish ARRUGAS (Wrinkles) and British THE PIRATES! IN AN ADVENTURE WITH SCIENTISTS.
Alois Nebel
Czech Republic, Germany, Slovakia (84 min)
Director: Tomáš Luňák
Screenwriter: Jaroslav Rudiš, Jaromír 99
Producer: Pavel Strnad, Thanassis Karathanos, Karl Baumgartner, Noro Držiak
Editor: Petr Říha
Original Score: Petr Kružík, Ondřej Ježek
Synopsis
Summer 1989. Alois Nebel, a lonely train dispatcher at Bílý Potok, a small railway station on the Czechoslovak border, lives a quiet life. As a small child, Alois has witnessed the dramatic expulsion of Germans after the World War II. Sometimes the fog rolls in and he hallucinates, seeing ghosts and shadows from the dark past of the region. One day, a silent stranger carrying an old photograph appears at the station. No one knows why he came to Bílý Potok, but his arrival propels Alois on the journey to resolve the long-forgotten memories that are haunting him.
Director's Statement
The story of the film is set in the Jeseníky Mountains, a border region which is a part of an area formerly known as the Sudetenland. Hardly any place in Central Europe's history of the last hundred years possesses a past with such vehemence and brutality as the Sudetenland. One of the darkest moments came after the World War II when more than 2 million Germans who lived in Czechoslovakia were expelled from the country. During this violent period about 30.000 Germans were killed. This huge trauma, which is still felt in the region and which Czech society still has not straightened out, is one of the main themes of the film.
The main character of the film is plagued by recurring visions of tragic events and his personal memories of the expulsion. He must try to understand them if he is to find personal peace.
