1968: Betrayal
Betrayal - the second part of the series devoted to the Prague Spring - charts the fundamental events which took place from 1968 to 1969. After the leaders of the Czechoslovak Communist Party returned from Moscow, the…
1968: Hope
The first part of a documentary series returns to the Prague Spring of 1968 - to the period of so-called socialism with a human face in which there was a glimmer of hope that society as a whole would fully recover. The…
A Czech Phenomenon: Dance Lessons
With a humourous distance, Dancing Lessons examines a phenomenon unique to Czech national culture - dance courses. The director followed a Prague dance class for more than a year - from the signing up, the balls,…
A Drop from the Goblet of Immortality
Maha Kumbh Mela, or the great Kumbh Mela, is the largest religious festivity in the world, with up to a hundred million people participating in the event. It takes place in India, at the confluence of the Jammuna and…
Africa Obscura
The AFRICA OBSCURA is a documentary that concerns contemporary Africa as a photographic phenomenon. But this time, the record is made through the medium of old analogue photographic and motion-picture cameras, which…
All the Prodigies
A documentary film about young Mozart pianists who, though very young, express strong and self-confident individualities. In 1767, an eleven-year old Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart performed with his sister at a concert in…
A Man Who Painted the Sea
Shortly before his death - in the seclusion of a small Prague flat - Jindřich Vik, a bank clerk and a naive painter, took his brush and water colours and started painting in an outburst of creative effort that lasted…
And Who Are You?
The marriage of a gay couple serves as the starting point for thinking about how our society perceives personal and social connections in the so-called gay unions.
The Angel's Game
Romana Andelova had cancer as a child and spent many months in hospital. As a little girl in an ugly sterile hospital, she felt very lonely and so she invented her own imaginary fantasy world featuring the fictional…
A Scout Has Bare Knees
The impulse for the making of this documentary was a 30-year-old amateur film from the life of the Junák organisation of Czech Scouts that was found in a remarkably good condition. The director, a former member of the…
A Spot in the Sun
The contemporary society prefers youth and beauty. What about the old people though? Some politicians have already proposed isolating seniors so that they don't "stand in the way". The documentary captures the life of…
Between Body and Soul Tanec Praha 2004
FAMU graduate Andrea Šestáková (artistic pseudonym Sirenudottir) focused on an opportunity to express modern dance in a highly artistic form suitable for the screen, which can immediately alter the viewer's perception.…
Brno's Music Ghetto?
A documentary film about music from the 1960's until today, which uncovers the city's music soul in its originality, frustration, exceptionality, intellectual potential and naive dottiness.
Bye Bye Shanghai
Distinguished Czech documentarist Jana Boková, who lives in Argentina, decided for her latest film to find out exactly what the word "exile" means. Her first stop is Prague, where after a period of 40 years, she meets…
Charlotta
A Story of the First Lady of the Czechoslovak Republic, who never became a First Lady. An hour docudrama on life of Ms. Charlotta Garrigue – Masaryk, wife of the 1st president of the Czechoslovak Republic
Children Online
Three stories from three young protagonists whose lives are deeply enmeshed with the thrilling but risk-prone world of the Internet.
The Circle of Rebirth
Tibet, the home of an old nation with a unique culture, surviving under extremely harsh conditions between the mountain ridges. Tibetans are raised with a humble understanding of the meaning of human existence,…
Citizen Havel Goes on Vacation
This 80-minute documentary recreates a trip across Czechoslovakia. Václav Havel took the trip in 1985 when he was still the country's most prominent dissident. In the course of one week, he was twice thrown into jail…
Concrete Stories
Both a capitalist invention and a Soviet symbol, the concrete slab buildings link a whole destiny of people. A film about a shared reality. In Concrete Stories, people from different countries who live in concrete…
The Count Zinzendorf - The Strength of Conviction
Next year, 250 years will have passed since the death of a man whose name is familiar to Christians in most parts of the world. Count Nicolaus Ludwig von Zinzendorf had both the talent and skills to be able to stand the…
Czechia on a String
A situational essay on the Czech identity on the backdrop of the Goose on a String theatre in Brno. The seriously playful collage consists of stage-managed documentary, theatre and discussion fragments, presenting among…
Czech Journal: The Okamura Brothers
A populist politician, a devout Christian, and a successful architect – 3 brothers, each very different. The film offers a non-traditional view of one Czech-Japanese family.
Dancing for the Camera
Film about European Sword Dances based on unique nitrate film shot by František Pospíšil in the 1920s, when European documentary filming came into its own. It includes material from Croatia to Britain - some of the…
Desk-based Assassination
Can Czech politicians acknowledge their own mistakes? Do they have a sense of humour? The answers are explored in a film account of the so-called Sarajevo assassination which was meant to unseat Václav Klaus as Prime…
DJs
Dance music today and its development in the Czech Republic in the past twenty years represent a variety of styles, trends and individualities. Just like a remix of a music piece can be different, the individualities of…
Driving School
An untraditional portrait of 4 directors on the theme of automobiles, theatre and film direction. At the beginning of 2010, script writer and director Petr Minařík managed to persuade 4 directors - Arnošt Goldflam, J.A.…
Ecce Homo Cardinal
The life drama of Miloslav Vlk, the first Prague Archbishop in the post-Communist era.
Erika HIV+
A documentary film about a brave and honest woman, Erika, who, by fighting her tragic fate, sets an example for other HIV-infected patients and their families.
Ernestine: Life Is a Labyrinth
Twelve years pld Ernestine is different than others and she feels alone. It is possible to change the will?
First Among Equals
People constantly talk about the advantages that politicians have compared to the common citizen. Parliamentary immunity, cheap prices at the Parliament diner or transport privileges are among the issues most commonly…
God's Stone Quarry (One Year In North Bohemia)
"For someone, it's Gott, for another, it's Satan. I put sugar in my coffee. Each has his own truths, even the crystalline rock in the Krušné Hory mountains. The buzzard snatched the young hare and the spider lies in…
The Golden Thread of Sister Akvinela
A portrait of nun Akvinela from the Congregation of Sisters of Notre Dame. Director Marie Šandová follows both everyday and special moments with a woman who is the source of inspiration, energy and vitality to others.
Goulash for 750 Million
What are Czech politicians and their voters like? In the times of pre-election hysteria, the film crew set out to the meetings of several political parties, investigating the means by which the politicians try to lure…
Half Past Three
A documentary film about peculiar and unconventional people living in a peculiar and unconventional place. After several visits to the easternmost region of interwar Czechoslovakia, a director and a cinematographer…
The Hardest of Choices
A documentary looking at the lives of four women and their partners who have refused abortions after discovering they are expecting handicapped children. The author captures their reactions on learning of their babies'…
I-dentity
The internet is a social space offering instant communication, entertainment to your liking, ready information, new ways of making money, easy starting and maintaining of interpersonal relationships or, possibly,…
I Guess We'll Meet at the Eurocamp
A documentary about a village with no traditional Czech pub on the square, but a Eurocamp on the periphery instead. A film about opportunities and about the ironic reality of a Czech village in the European Union. What…
Industrial Elegy
A visually poetic documentary about people living in the mining colonies in Ostrava that are gradually being shut down. As this world slowly disappears, we also lose the local traditional values, unique experiences and…
In Spite of Fate
The documentary depicts a life story of a man, whose fate was not much benign to him. It is a story of a man, who, in spite of inconceivable suffering and critical, seemingly irresoluble situations that life has brought…
It's Spring in Prague Every Year/It's the Prague Spring Every Year, Opus No. 1
Two clarinet players, one Czech and one Israeli, first sing to one another over the phone and then send each other emails with photographs of their concert gowns. Several days prior to their performance, they meet and…
I Won’t Sell My Soul
Childless couples frequently arrange and pay for surrogacy. Yet surrogacy can be a minefield of complex issues. Nikola, once a surrogate mother, filed a lawsuit to keep her child. After Renata had given birth to a baby…
Jan Palach's Message
Documentary marking the 40th Anniversary of self-burning act of the Czech student
Jan Palach. On the 16th of January 2009 it will be 40 years from the self-burning
of Jan Palach. He has committed this act in protest…
Keep the Rhythm!
Using the music of Bohuslav Martinů, The Chap-Book project was inspired by Rhythm Is It!, a successful social and art project developed by the Berlin Philharmonic. Working with the graduates of the Duncan Centre, the…
Killers Ltd.
"We are all able to kill, but most of us never act on it." (Slavomír Hubálek, psychologist). Five murders and other 22 crimes committed between 1993 and 1996 by the "Kolin Gang" has shaken the public. The possible…
Killing Czech Style
The film attempts to shed some light on the post-war massacre in Postoloprty, in which 763 local German residents died. Nobody was punished after the war. This film captures the tragic event through the eyes of direct…
The Krajina Files
The documentary The Krajina Files will introduce the resistance activities of Vladimír Krajina during World War II as well as his anti-communist attitude and fate after February 1948.
Little Mole & Laozi
If any one should wish to get the kingdom for himself, and to effect this by what he does, I see that he will not succeed.
Live Image of a Better World
Far away from civilization in the mountains Orlické hory, there lives a man together with his sheep, cats and radio who does not keep almost any contact with people. His knowledge of nature and natural processes and his…
Loan Shark
Usury - a phenomenon which has spread through the Czech Roma community in the past few years.
Lover Beyond Death
A story of unfulfilled love between Ludwig van Beethoven and Countess Almerie Esterházy. Speculations about who was the consignee of Beethoven's three love letters emerged immediately after the letters were found in his…
Love Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow
A documentary love story. A mother and daughter's view of the relationships between eight couples from various generations over the course of a year. A search for what most connects people, and at the same time divides…
Medela, Latin for Help
A charity project led by Czech women supports the building of a school in Guinea, university education of Peruvian Indians and an orphanage for HIV positive children in Cambodia.
Memory of the 20th Century: Beyond Words
A documentary film about the history of the Jewish family camp in Auschwitz, about its annihilation and the worst mass murder in the history of Czechoslovakia.
My 20th Century
Director Olga Sommerová examined the private lives of three Czech women born before WW2, during the time of the first Czechoslovak Republic. Important artists whose work more often wins recognition abroad than at home,…
My Enchanted Castle
The director is one of the descendants of Baron Schebek, a significant railway constructor in the Austrian-Hungarian monarchy and the owner of vast estates in the Sazava region. After the Revolution, the family got back…
My Great-Grandfather Genghis Khan
The documentary illustrates the fact given by the location of the Czech territory as well as the historical turn of events, i.e. that in most Czech families, there is an ancestor who came from elsewhere, belonged to…
My Home
A story of an unusual family in Kiev fighting the real estate injustice. Natasha, the head of the family, is trying to preserve the family farm, which is now surrounded by modern living quarters. In addition to that,…
My Name Is Jiří David
The journey to Venice and back, pictures of the artist's life in middle age.
No Regrets
The film consists of two independent stories, each showing seemingly commonplace family relationships that everyone can relate to. The situations that are played out against this familiar background are very uncommon,…
Papa
This feature-length documentary presents a loving and humorous portrait of the artistic and private life of Zdeněk Svěrák, famous as a writer, actor, lyricist, screenwriter, and father. "We started where Elementary…
Paths of Faith - Place of Silence
The film follows the construction of a new Cistercian monastery in Western Bohemia. The project was designed by British architect John Pawson. A contemplative insight into the life and work of contemporary monks.
Prague Outskirts Images
On Prague outskirts´ magnetism that inspired several generations of Czech modern art.
Private Century - Daddy and Lili Marlene
Daddy and Lili Marlene is a loose sequel to the "King of Velichovky" episode. The story is narrated from the perspective of little Eva who recollects her memories of Velichovky farmstead and mainly her parents: daddy…
Private Century - King of Velichovky
King of Velichovky is an authentic story of Karel Seisser who lived in Velichovky on the Czech-German border in 1930s and 40s. Karel Seisser was a farmer by heart and soul. He owned fields, woods and farmland,…
Private Century - Statuary of Granddad Vinda
Statuary of Granddad Vinda is a story of sculptor Vincenc Havel who lived in the Opava region of north Moravia in the 1950s. His film memories are a set of images that nicely depict this interesting personality, which…
Report from the Black Hole
This documentary film about the city of Ostrava was well appreciated for its sincerity. Narrator Petr Nárožný presents the past and present Ostrava with humour and distance.
Sold
The Hradčany district of Prague. A 16th century building, which abuts the Foreign Ministry, is one of the few places in the area still inhabited by its original, pre-Revolution tenants. The owner, however, has decided…
Solo for One Hand
"It's like dancing on one leg!" – The genesis adventure of the top Janacek's composition for one arm and its first performer Otakar Hollmann.
Stars Behind the Iron Curtain
A cultural documentary about foreign music as a bearer of the democratic tendencies and freedom in the Czechoslovak area in the period of 1965 - 1990. A unique and comprehensive view of the cultural and political…
Strange Young Lady
A portrait of one of the most interesting contemporary Czech composers, violinists and singers. Iva Bittová introduces her fragile musical world, influenced by minimalism as well as ethnic music. She begins her journey…
Sweat and Tears - The Making of the Prague Spring, Opus No. 2
This documentary film is the second in the trilogy Prague Spring Comes Every Year, which disrupts the stereotype in which the world of classical music is presented by the media. The film is made up of four storylines.…
The Tower Of Death - A Chapter From The History Of The Present Justice
The story of this extremly thrilling documentary film shot in the present time is mostly taking place at various Czech Law Courts. Accussed is the former prison guard of the Jachymov prison camp Bohumír Vlačiha. After…
Troublemakers
Věra Chytilová's documentary film that presents a diverse group of women who comment on various social and political issues.
Two on Holiday: Baby Included
Documentary film about the new phenomenon reproductive ivf tourism. Homo sapiens is truly an endangered species? For a child around the world.
UMPRUM 130
A documentary film about the building, which celebrates the anniversary of 130 years of remarkable symbiosis between art and craft .
The (Un)bearable Lightness of Stodolni Street
A Documentary about the most famous street in Ostrava - Stodolni Street. For two years (2003 - 2005) the director Jaroslav Vecera observes lives of people who work and live close to the Ostrava's most popular street -…
(Un)censored Interview
In a confrontation with her mother Olga Sommerová, the maker of the documentary enters into dialogues about life. A friendly duel between two generations, two women - mother and daughter. The mother - a well-known film…
Václav Bělohradský: Nobody Is Listening
Nobody Is Listening is an attempt to portray the philosophy of one of the greatest Czech thinkers of our time - philosopher, sociologist and essayist Václav Bělohradský. It is an opportunity to think about the current…
Václav Havel, Prague - Castle
When Václav Havel was elected president on 29 December 1989, he and his advisors' immediate goal was to lead the country to its first free elections as quickly as possible. Petr Jančárek's documentary devotes itself to…
Vierka, Or the Mystery of Family B's Disappearance
This documentary started out as a portrait of a young talented Roma singer but turned into a drama about two different views of "the truth". Coincidence is instrumental at the beginning of the film and the end is…
Vorel Forest - From the Life of a Film Director
A documentary about the life of film director Tomáš Vorel and his unconventional way of life in the Rabštejn forest where he finds stories for his films - and more. "Humans are made by the elements. We came from the…
Way to Power
Tissues of power inside political parties are covered by a veil of secrecy for non-party people. What decides that some members get to the top of the party hierarchy and others will always fail? What relationships, what…
We'll Be Stumbling, Brother
Emigration through the eyes of children. The life stories of people who fled from their countries for economical reasons or because of various kinds of discrimination have been richly described. However, how does…
We Outlived Our Children
Looking into the grave of one's own child is considered by most parents the worst personal tragedy. In this country, there is no support group for people who had to go through such a tragic experience. The film presents…
Wichterle
Wichterle is a biographical documentary about Otto Wichterle, the inventor of soft contact lenses, an invention used today by more than 100 million people all over the world. The sale of patents could have made him an…
Women at the Turn of the Millennium - To Be a Romany Woman
The theme of the whole documentary cycle is that of several woman and their and singular fates. The individual parts introduce women who are in their zenith and are enjoyning success and fame are woman who are down and…
Women at the Turn of the Millennium - Trapped
Helena Třeštíková is the author of 10 episodes from the series Women on the Brink of the New Millennium, intimate portraits of both successful women and women on the social periphery. The tragic story of a girl named…
Zikmund Reach's Fictitional Diary
An album of 68 old photos from the early 20th century. "Buildings and Yards of Smíchov and Košíře" by antiquarian, dealer in teaching aids and photographer Zikmund Reach tells some remarkable stories, which have become…