Three Czech films or coproductions will celebrate their International or North American premiere at Toronto International Film Festival. Winter Flies by Olmo Omerzu, "I Do Not Care If We Go Down in History as Barbarians" by Radu Jude and Vitaly Mansky’s Putin’s Witnesses were already awarded at the Karlovy Vary earlier this summer.
Young talented director Olmo Omerzu received a price for the Best director for his movie Winter Flies at Karlovy Vary IFF, which will go to Toronto IFF right after entering Czech cinemas at the beggining of September and will be part of Contemporary World Cinema section. The main producer of the Czech-Slovenian-Polish-Slovak co-production in Jiří Konečný / endorfilm.
Learn more about the film in the interview with Olmo Omerzu here.
Another entry to the Contemporary World Cinema section at TIFF is "I Do Not Care If We Go Down in History as Barbarians" by Romanian director Radu Jude, which was awarded the Crystal Globe at Karlovy Vary IFF. Produced by Ada Solomon (Romania / Hi Film Productions), in coproduction with the Czech Republic (Jiří Konečný / endorfilm), France, Bulgaria, and Germany, the film reconstructs a ghastly incident from Romanian past and it is an ingenious update of Hannah Arendt’s incisive work on the banality of evil. Supported by the Czech Film Fund to the tune of €156,863, Jude’s latest project is the second collaboration between Romanian producer Ada Solomon, director Radu Jude, and Czech producer Jiří Konečný, following the successful Aferim! from 2015.
The third film with Czech participation to screen in Toronto (TIFF Docs) is Vitaly Mansky’s Putin’s Witnesses, the winner of the Documentary Films Competition at Karlovy Vary IFF. The Latvian-Swiss-Czech coproduction takes a fascinating look at the start of Vladimir Putin’s presidential career. It is the third collaboration between Vitaly Mansky and Czech producers/directors Filip Remunda and Vít Klusák (Hypermarket Film), following Under the Sun and Pipeline. The film was backed by the Czech Film Fund with €39,216.
Shot in Prague: Xavier Dolan's new film
Another Czech imprint in Toronto this year is the long-awaited film by Canadian director Xavier Dolan The Death and Life of John F. Donovan, which will have its world premiere as part of the Special Presentations program. Dolan skipped Cannes earlier this year to continue post-production on his movie, which stars Kit Harington, Jacob Tremblay, Natalie Portman, Ben Schnetzer, Susan Sarandon, Kathy Bates, Thandie Newton, and Sarah Gadon. The film was partly shot in the Czech Republic in March 2017, with line producing by Prague based Film United.
The film tells the story of John F. Donovan, a rising American actor whose career is cut short when a magazine reveals his pen-pal relationship with an 11-year-old British boy. The film was supported by the Prague Film Fund in its first call, receiving €38,300. The production spent € 1,3 million during the shooting in the Czech Republic and the incentives backed by the Czech Film Fund reached €257,000.
