CZECH DOCS

The Most Successful Czech Documentaries of 2016 Receive Awards

22. 1. 2017

Author: Barbora Holková

At the beginning of each year, the most successful Czech films and documentaries of the past season are announced and awarded at several events. We already know the names of the fresh Trilobite Awards and Czech Film Critics Awards holders, as well as the list of documentaries nominated for Czech Lion Awards.   

The jubilee 30th audiovisual Trilobite Awards organized by the Czech Film and Television Association (FITES) were hosted in Beroun on January 14, 2017. The first Trilobite award in the documentary film category was given to the Ukrainian director Vitaly Mansky for the film Under the Sun, supported by IDF and produced by Vít Klusák and Filip Remunda. The jury particularly appreciated its dramaturgical originality and the shockingly strong imagery with which the authors managed to get under the propaganda facade of the North Korean regime. The regime itself is not a priori criticized, but it is left to reveal itself by its own means and language. 

Another Trilobite was presented to director and producer Pavel Štingl and his documentary called Courage. The jury highlighted the unique picturing of the creative process and the circumstances of the making of the equestrian statue in Brno, as well as the cinematography and editing of the film.

The Special Award of the Jury was presented to the feature documentary film FC Roma directed by Tomáš Bojar a Rozálie Kohoutová. The jurors praised the humour and mature perspective with which the filmmakers show the story of a football team "no one wants to play against". „The theme of xenophophobia is being covered without prejudice, and the reactions of some football fans accompanying the premiere indicated that the Czech documentary filmmaking can still b an act of civil courage," said the jury about the film, which was also supported by IDF.   

FC Roma was also among the three documentaries nominated for the Czech Film Critics Awards. Its competitors were Doomed Beauty and Normal Autistic Film which was eventually announced as the Best Documentary during the official ceremony that took place on January 28. As reviewed by Variety, this "beautifully crafted, intimate, and revealing observational portrait of five youngsters with Asperger’s Syndrome" has already won two Awards in Jihlava 2016 and was introduced within IDF's activities. Its talented director, Miroslav Janek was also a tutor to participants of the Ex Oriente Film workshop in the past. 

In January, the nominations for the Czech Film and Television Academy (CFTA) Awards, also called “Czech Lion Awards" were announced. The Czech Lion for the Best documentary will be given to one of the following competing documentaries:  FC Roma, Doomed BeautyNormal Autistic Film, Brother Karel and Helena's Law. The 24th edition of the annual CTFA  Awards ceremony will be held on Saturday, March 4, 2017, in Rudolfinum in Prague and there will be a live streaming of the event provided by Czech TV.  

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