Synopsis
Bedřiška is a former mining colony in the heart of industrial Ostrava. Since the 1990s, the city has moved "problem" families here, intending to let the area run down. But the locals refused the role assigned to them and turned a feared address into a self-assured neighbourhood built on the shared experience of mining families, the majority population and the Roma minority. Together they run a community centre, pay their rent, work and care for their community. Czech president Petr Pavel has pointed to Bedřiška as an example of good coexistence.
The city district, however, sees Bedřiška as "an area of exceptional investment opportunity." It stops renewing leases and demolishes the emptied Finnish houses. In November 2025, excavators arrive unannounced to tear down five houses, and activists occupy the roof of one of them for a month. The houses fall, yet weeks later the city hall rules the demolitions unlawful. No one is held responsible.
The faces of Bedřiška are Eva (69), an accountant who helps people in need; her daughter Lydka (45), who makes a living cleaning; and Tonda Baláž (62), a Roma entrepreneur who has lived here for thirty years. With the last fifty or so residents, they refuse to lose hope, even as the system reminds them daily that they are in the way. The story is also told through Bedřiška's children, who film the settlement with their own cameras: they see an idyll where the authorities see a ghetto.
In 2026, municipal elections approach, and Eva runs as a candidate with the locals behind her. Life goes on – with the everyday joy of coexistence, garden barbecues and the search for certainty in uncertain times.
Director Kryštof Zvolánek has followed the community since 2022, earning its trust and unique access. The film asks how the value of a place is measured – by the price of land or the price of home – and whether the individual stands a chance against a system they inconvenience.
The city district, however, sees Bedřiška as "an area of exceptional investment opportunity." It stops renewing leases and demolishes the emptied Finnish houses. In November 2025, excavators arrive unannounced to tear down five houses, and activists occupy the roof of one of them for a month. The houses fall, yet weeks later the city hall rules the demolitions unlawful. No one is held responsible.
The faces of Bedřiška are Eva (69), an accountant who helps people in need; her daughter Lydka (45), who makes a living cleaning; and Tonda Baláž (62), a Roma entrepreneur who has lived here for thirty years. With the last fifty or so residents, they refuse to lose hope, even as the system reminds them daily that they are in the way. The story is also told through Bedřiška's children, who film the settlement with their own cameras: they see an idyll where the authorities see a ghetto.
In 2026, municipal elections approach, and Eva runs as a candidate with the locals behind her. Life goes on – with the everyday joy of coexistence, garden barbecues and the search for certainty in uncertain times.
Director Kryštof Zvolánek has followed the community since 2022, earning its trust and unique access. The film asks how the value of a place is measured – by the price of land or the price of home – and whether the individual stands a chance against a system they inconvenience.
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