Martin Mareček

Is The Slav Epic truly "a child who died at birth?" On the background of a journey of the twenty magnificent paintings film investigates in several thematic lines phenomena associated with a perception of the majestic legacy of Alphonse Mucha and his own - in many ways contradictory - personality. Art historians, philosophers, politicians, heirs, Japanese visitors, Czech parvenus and American philanthropists dispute and complement each other on various tableaux vivants, weaving a tissue of reflection which - although not easily fathomable - soundly proves The Slav Epic to be a baby still bloody alive.

Do we have an "epic" complex in a sense that we see “all too epic” as a relict of intentions that wanted to include everything in certain sphere? Does the Slav Epic has a complex of us who have not been able to agree for more than a hundred years, where is her place - permanent residence and sense? What happens when - in the midst of this obscurity - Alphonse Mucha's Slav Epic all of the sudden visits Japan?

The relationship between people and bees is one of the best mapped phenomena in human history. In most cultures, the honey bee used to be considered a sacred animal and enjoyed great respect. Today, due to our irresponsible interventions in nature, it is facing extinction. Together with Honeymen, two amateur beekeepers from Brno, we set out to search for an answer to how to save the bees. However, it soon becomes clear that it is not only the bees that are dying; it is also something in us. Human Beeing is a reflection upon modern humans losing their relationship both to nature and to themselves. It is not a film about the bees but with the bees. It is about humility, faith and dying humanity at a time of increasing dominance of technology.

How Long Until We Die Out? is a documentary feature that tells stories of human otherness on the minority example of red-haired people. Why do some claim gingers will die out in a hundred years? Juliana, the ‘only ginger in the family’, takes pause at her own otherness in her relationship with red-heads and others. As the film’s narrator, she speaks to red-heads, joining a collective exploration of myths and stereotypes that gave birth to the ginger, as well as those apparently other. Suddenly it seems as though they could be applied to any minority whatsoever.

This personal film examines not only the potential extinction of redheads but also the global extinction of all species. It positions redheads as pioneers of a modern extinction narrative, related to human population growth and looming ecological crisis. Yet, in an era marked by increasing xenophobia and conspiracy theories, what perspective should we adopt? How can we maintain a sense of control over a world that seems to be slipping out of our grasp? Aren’t we ultimately all the same? Or are we different—soulless?
Juliana’s personal approach is without bias. She seeks in it a chimeric understanding and an effort to identify with one’s community. She asks how we exit a vicious circle of stereotypes that surround her. Her journey is one of genuine and personal uncertainties, as she explores the mode of her own survival.

The film’s story is told through three cameras capturing different perspectives and modes: observational, reportative and poetic. The film grapples with the question of how our otherness defines us—our survival and uniqueness. Does society’s perception of red-haired people reflect broader societal anxieties and feelings of not belonging? In the end, we will all face extinction, and in a dystopian twist, it may be redheads who disappear first, in their effort to save the planet.