Sláma's Something Like Happiness attracted a moderate 230,000 Czech viewers but was very successful on the festival circuit and was sold to 20 countries.

Producers Pavel Strnad and Petr Oukropec from Negativ production company (www.negativ.cz) are well known in the Czech Republic for their slate of progressive, even experimental projects including Citizen Havel, which traces the life of former President Vaclav Havel and has attracted 100,000 viewers, a domestic record for a documentary film.

They co-produced Country Teacher with Czech Television (www.ceskatelevize.cz), French company Why Not Productions (www.whynotproductions.fr) and German Pallas Film (www.pallasfilm.com).

The film, budgeted at €2.2 million and supported by Eurimages, is distributed by Bontonfilm a.s. (www.bontonfilm.cz) in 29 prints. For release abroad it has been picked up by Wild Bunch (www.wildbunch-distribution.com), which hopes to place it in festival showcases such as Cannes or Toronto, producer Petr Oukropec told FNE. Domestic financing provides 50% of the overall budget.

"From the production point of view, it was quite interesting that all substantial sets were created especially for the film," Oukropec said. "This is common abroad but still rare in the Czech Republic."