Tomáš Hrubý

Real people and their stories hidden behind the shared cell phone amateur videos shot during the Arab Spring in 2011. A documentary road movie in between digital space and reality. In December 2010, after a desperate shopkeeper set fire to himself and burnt to death in Tunisia, public riots began. In the following weeks and months a massive wave of revolutions moved to other Arab countries, with its extraordinary power set in motion by apparent certainties of oligarchic North African and Middle Eastern regimes. The main media and revolutionary method of communication between young Arabs is the internet. Social networks and Youtube represent a kind of meta-space free of government control. Videos shot with cell phone cameras, thousands of hours of brutal evidence against the power of the state, Revolution documenting itself online. How many personal videoarchives were possibly shot only during the mythical gathering of one million Egyptians in Tahrir square in February? And who are the real people hidden behind these iconic images? Would there be any revolution without these strong shared video-images?

Migration is a hot issue nowadays. Europe has become the dream destination for numerous migrants seeking better life here. Just as 200 years ago numerous migrants were seeking better lives on the territory of today's Ukraine. Czechs were among them too. They got married there, begot children and lived in Ukraine for several generations. The time has changed and the descendants of those people see better life in their original homeland. Great many of them, however, know very little about their ancestors, they don't speak Czech and they feel Ukrainian. About 170 of the total of 1300 Czech descendants are planning to return. The documentary witnesses the journey of a man to a completely unfamiliar country, both his cultural and social integration. These “compatriots” are given a one-time reward of 50 000 CZK and one year of accommodation in a facility of Czech Ministry of Interior. Within that period they are going to have to learn the Czech language, find a job and a place to stay. Some of them have come on their own, some with families and children, some are old enough for pension. We have selected several interesting protagonists that we are going to follow for the period of one year.

Czech branch of the international company Siemens decided to undergo a social experiment last year. Company leadership, dissatisfied with the unmeasurability and difficult assessment of traditional charity aid organized through non-profit organizations, decided to develop a charity program of their own. In cooperation with various non-profit organizations, which focus on helping the underprivileged, they will create tens of working positions in specialized productions all over the republic. The positions are going to be offered exclusively to people without home and employment and together with a year contract they will be provided with accommodation and training, which they are all going to undergo before starting their new jobs.

A feature documentary Better to Go Mad in the Wild introduces the lives of protagonists representing three generations of modern day hermits: twins František and Ondra Klišík, herdswoman Martina and aging maverick Mirek. Against the backdrop of the changing cycle of nature, we find out about their experiences and decisions, which led them to live an isolated life away from civilisation for more than a decade. For a period of one year film observes protagonists lives – spring, summer, autumn, winter – four seasons mirror rise and fall, joy and sorrow.
The film is a deep dive into the mysterious corners of the human soul; a survey into long-term solitude and isolation; an expedition into a parallel world which, despite its apparent remoteness, poses very uncomfortable questions about our own reality. It is an intimate quiz set in the magical environment of the Bohemian Forest; an exploration of our ability to take life-changing decisions and deal with the consequences.