Czech cinema will once again be represented in Berlinale’s prestigious Panorama section for the first time in five years. One of the 18 documentaries that will be shown in this section will be a film that has stirred up interest in the Czech Republic, and not only among fans of documentary films: Daniel’s World from director Veronika Lišková, which opens the taboo theme of paedophile sexuality. David, a twenty-five-year-old student of a literary academy, reveals his family, friends and society that he is a homosexual paedophile. The documentary empathically captures the public and private moments of his confession. Daniel’s deep self-reflection and his emphasis on other than purely sexual values make it possible for the filmmakers to present a paedophile’s situation in a complex and humane manner. His charm, detached self-deprecation and use of exaggeration give the film a surprising lightness and humour.

Films in which the Czech Republic is, to a greater or lesser extent, a co-producer have also seen success. The Slovak/Czech film Koza, the feature film debut of Ivan Ostrochovský, was selected for the Forum section. Last year the director received the Readers’ Award of the German daily “Tagesspiegel” in the same section for his film Velvet Terrorists. The film Koza is inspired by the story of the Romany boxer Peter Baláž, who was at the peak of his career at the Olympic Games in Atlanta in 1966. The film, which won the award at last year’s Karlovy Vary IFF for the best film project of 2014, will also be competing in Berlin for the debut award, which the director of Berlinale nominated together with 15 other films. The winning debut film will take away 50,000 EUR!

The Romanian/Bulgarian/Czech co-production Aferim! from the Romanian director Radu Jude made it to this year’s main competition in Berlinale.The film tells the story of the hunt for a fugitive in a provincial area of Romania where the slavery of Gypsies was still common in the 19th century. Jiří Konečný from Endorfilm is the Czech co-producer of both the films.

A German film with a minority Czech share,Douglas Wolfsperger’s Brundibar Revisited, will be screened in the LOLA@Berlinale section, which presents films from a pre-selection for the German national film awards. The documentary is about preparations for a current production of the children’s opera Brundibar, which was played in the period of the holocaust in the concentration camp in Terezín. The Czech company Negativ co-produced the film.

A special programme honouring the 60th anniversary of the awarding of the Golden Bears to short films also includes Jan Švankmajer’s celebrated animated film, Dimensions of a Dialogue, which obtained the Golden Bear award for the year 1983.

The Czech Film Center will once again represent Czech film in Berlin. It can be found at the European film market in a stand entitled Central European Cinema (no. 142), which it shares with Slovakia and Slovenia. The stand serves as an information and coordination centre for all foreign parties interested in Czech film. The National Film Archive and Czech Film Commission will also be presenting their activities within the stand. The stand’s partners this year are Barrandov Studios, Karlovy Vary IFF, Zlín Film Festival and Czech Television’s children’s channel, ČT:D.

This year the following films will have screenings at the film market: the feature films Goat by Ivan Ostrochovský, Photographer by Irena Pavlásková, The Snake Brothers by Jan Prušinovský, Ghoul by Petr Jákl, Honey Night by Ivo Trajkov, Fair Play by Andrea Sedláčková and the documentaries Daniel’s World by Veronika Lišková, Always Together by Eva Tomanová and Brundibar Revisited by Douglas Wolfsperger.

CZECH FILMS IN THE OFFICIAL PROGRAMME

Aferim! by Radu Jude

FESTIVAL SCREENINGS

Wed February 11    9:00    Berlinale Palast (Press)
Wed February 11   16:00   Berlinale Palast
Thu February 12     9:30    Friedrichstadt Palast
Thu February 12    12:30   Haus der Berliner Festspiele
Thu February 12    22:30   International
Sun February 15    21:30   Haus der Berliner Festspiele

Daniel's World by Veronika Liskova

FESTIVAL SCREENINGS
Mon February 9  17:00 CineStar 7
Tue February 10 12:00 CineStar 7
Thu February 12 17:30 Cubix 7
Sat February 14  17:00 CineStar 7 

MARKET SCREENING
Sat February 7   9:30 CinemaxX 11

Koza by Ivan Ostrochovsky

FESTIVAL SCREENINGS
Sun February 8 20:00 Cubix 9
Mon February 9 19:30 CinemaxX4
Tue February 10 12:30 Arsenal 1
Wed February 11 15:45 CinemaxX6 (Press)
Fri February 13 21:30 CineStar 8 

MARKET SCREENINGS
Sat February 7 16:45 CinemaxX 1
Thu February 12 16:45 CinemaxX 2

Dimensions of Dialogue by Jan Svankmajer

FESTIVAL SCREENING
Fri February 14 22:30 International

Brundibar Revisited

FESTIVAL SCREENING
Wed February11 14:00 ZooPalast 3

 

CZECH FILMS AT THE EUROPEAN FILM MARKET

 

 

Markéta Šantrochová (4. - 11. 2.), This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Denisa Štrbová (4. - 9. 2.), This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Daniela Hurábová (7. - 12. 2.), This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

 

 

Contact:
Denisa Štrbová
Czech Film Center
Tel.: +420 724 329 949
E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
www.filmcenter.cz