Police Symphony Orchestra
The film follows the members of the Police Symphony Orchestra (PSO) over the course of approximately 3 years as they pursue their dreams with all their determination and love for music and try to not only think of themselves but also to help others.
The musicians, who come from Police nad Metují, a town of 4000 residents situated in the region of Náchodsko and the Adršpašsko-Teplice rocks on the border with Poland, are preparing for their 10th annual season in their rehearsal room in the local monastery. They are launching the season in the sold-out hall of Lucerna in Prague. None of them expected that an amateur orchestra would manage to sell out such a prestigious hall. That's why they don't stop dreaming and come up with the idea of organizing the biggest benefit concert to date at the airport in Broumov, where they would like to build a marqueev and hold a concert in it for six thousand spectators. But that is not the only goal.
Téleso wants to reach out to the popular French singer ZAZ, to see if she would perform with them at a concert at the end of the 10th season. Dreams and big plans are one thing, standing up and managing everything is another matter. In the same year, Petra Soukupová, the founder of the orchestra, also deals with turning points in her life – finishing her studies and finding a way to combine the roles of an enthusiastic volunteer and an adult young woman who has to stand on her own two feet. However, she is not the only one looking for herself in the orchestra.
Into all of this comes the coronavirus pandemic, which changes all plans. The pandemic not only changes and disrupts everything, but also threatens the existence of some of its members. Some of them are among the infected. Some reevaluate what is really important in life. The orchestra has never faced such a difficult test. None of them want to give up their dreams and believe that they will still achieve their goals and come out of this fight even stronger.
The musicians, who come from Police nad Metují, a town of 4000 residents situated in the region of Náchodsko and the Adršpašsko-Teplice rocks on the border with Poland, are preparing for their 10th annual season in their rehearsal room in the local monastery. They are launching the season in the sold-out hall of Lucerna in Prague. None of them expected that an amateur orchestra would manage to sell out such a prestigious hall. That's why they don't stop dreaming and come up with the idea of organizing the biggest benefit concert to date at the airport in Broumov, where they would like to build a marqueev and hold a concert in it for six thousand spectators. But that is not the only goal.
Téleso wants to reach out to the popular French singer ZAZ, to see if she would perform with them at a concert at the end of the 10th season. Dreams and big plans are one thing, standing up and managing everything is another matter. In the same year, Petra Soukupová, the founder of the orchestra, also deals with turning points in her life – finishing her studies and finding a way to combine the roles of an enthusiastic volunteer and an adult young woman who has to stand on her own two feet. However, she is not the only one looking for herself in the orchestra.
Into all of this comes the coronavirus pandemic, which changes all plans. The pandemic not only changes and disrupts everything, but also threatens the existence of some of its members. Some of them are among the infected. Some reevaluate what is really important in life. The orchestra has never faced such a difficult test. None of them want to give up their dreams and believe that they will still achieve their goals and come out of this fight even stronger.
Under the Ice
David is challenging the physiological and psychological limits of the human body in sub-zero temperatures below the ice. Every moment requires supreme control. A single misstep could mean the difference between life and death. David's ice story started when he was small. As a child he hated cold water.
His parents were artists and he was not. He was a shy boy and became a shy man who has problems communicating with women. He taught math and physical education in a small town. He lead his students to overcome limits, to endure discomfort. David often had to defend his unorthodox approach to those around him, and also to himself. Perhaps that's why he was looking for a way to prove that he also was capable of bearing discomfort and pain. He began systematically work on hardening himself.
In February 2021 he swam 80 meters under an ice sheet in a single breath without a protective wetsuit winning a Guinness World Record.
He felt unbreakable, but he was not. His wife suddenly left him after twenty years of marriage. He got shared custody of his six years old daughter. He decided to persevere under the ice. He announced his next attempt. This time a dive 50 meters deep. Again in one breath with no protective gear. He prepares for every possibility but overlooks one crucial thing. The water pressure is a lot higher at the elevation where this dive will take place.
When he emerged from his dive in Lake Sils in Switzerland he was bleeding heavily. The experience taught him a lot about his own limitations, and the limitations of the people helping him. But what can one see in the darkness?
The film tells the story of a man who has conquered world records in an effort to define an identity and demonstrate the possibilities of human potential. But is he affirming life or defying death?
Is this a story of human strength or vulnerability?
His parents were artists and he was not. He was a shy boy and became a shy man who has problems communicating with women. He taught math and physical education in a small town. He lead his students to overcome limits, to endure discomfort. David often had to defend his unorthodox approach to those around him, and also to himself. Perhaps that's why he was looking for a way to prove that he also was capable of bearing discomfort and pain. He began systematically work on hardening himself.
In February 2021 he swam 80 meters under an ice sheet in a single breath without a protective wetsuit winning a Guinness World Record.
He felt unbreakable, but he was not. His wife suddenly left him after twenty years of marriage. He got shared custody of his six years old daughter. He decided to persevere under the ice. He announced his next attempt. This time a dive 50 meters deep. Again in one breath with no protective gear. He prepares for every possibility but overlooks one crucial thing. The water pressure is a lot higher at the elevation where this dive will take place.
When he emerged from his dive in Lake Sils in Switzerland he was bleeding heavily. The experience taught him a lot about his own limitations, and the limitations of the people helping him. But what can one see in the darkness?
The film tells the story of a man who has conquered world records in an effort to define an identity and demonstrate the possibilities of human potential. But is he affirming life or defying death?
Is this a story of human strength or vulnerability?