News
Digitisation of two films directed by Jana Ševčíková
We have completed the digitization and remastering of the films Piemule (1983) and Jakub (1992), the two earliest works by director Jana Ševčíková. It was a challenging task involving the original black-and-white and color 16mm negatives. The sound remastering was carried out by sound master Pavel Dvořák.
We are excited for you to see the films soon in cinemas and on VOD platforms.
KINETOPSIA at Ji.hlava IFF
World premiere of Tomáš Svoboda’s KINETOPSIA at the IFF JiHlava in the Czech Joy section!
The term kinetopsia refers to a disorder which makes us think that stationary objects are in motion. The title thus presents a metaphor for our situation: the Revolution took place more than three decades ago, and while an uncertain present brings ever new problems, public discussion still often chases after the „spectre of communism“ – a universal, abstracted evil, always blameworthy and constantly threatening to return. Its shadow makes it easier to miss the real challenges of today, as well as critical aspects of the political transformation that has wrought our economic and cultural conditions.
The project thus hyperbolically takes on the „90s“ businessman and gangster icon Ivan Jonák, in whom the often overlooked (personal) continuity of (pre)revolutionary and post-revolutionary events is well demonstrated. However, it approaches the topic in an entertaining, almost thriller-style fashion. For the young protagonists, already born into a free state and dealing with quite different problems, Jonák’s story becomes a detective case to untangle. Their final, surreal clash with the former revolutionary generation „fighting the communists,“ in the ruins of what was Discoland, thus stands as a symbolic encounter with an isolated worldview that remains, while clearly absurd, one we have yet to confront.
The failure to identify the real culprits of many problems is not limited to Czech Republic but applies to a number of post-socialist countries where their own „Jonáks“, acting under the guise of revolution, have managed to enrich themselves at the expense of others, often finding comfortable posts in the emerging system. The need to rethink the black-and-white perspective of our (post-)revolutionary history thus extends far beyond Discoland, and without such a negotiation we can hardly expect to address the current issues at stake.
Text Noemi Purkrábková
FOR A HEART OF MAN
An adaptation of Karel Klostermann’s novel Where Children Are Going is currently in development in collaboration with screenwriter Džian Baban. It tells the story of the landowner Karel Podílský, who, under the burden of debts and alcohol, embarks on what may be his final journey to the wetlands of Šumava to preserve his human face and dignity.
The development of this feature has been supported by the State Cinematography Fund and the National Recovery Plan
I DON´T LOVE YOU ANYMORE by Zdeněk Jiráský in CZECH and SLOVAK cinemas!
Zdeněk Jiráský’s film Už tě nemám rád bout two children on the run to adulthood, won the Special Jury Prize at the 39th IFF in Warsaw and after a journey through festivals (Tallinn, Lecce, Stockholm…), finally arrived in Czech and Slovak cinemas.
Thirteen years old Marek shoots videos with social themes, making him an outsider among his classmates. At home, his peaceful relationship with his mother is disrupted by his mother’s new acquaintance. In the most sensitive phase of his life, Tereza enters his path. Despite their social differences, they develop a liking for each other. Soon teenage games spiral out of control with a simulated kidnapping, culminating in a runaway from home. They board a train and a series of spontaneous adventures pursue until they get lost in a labyrinth of endless freedom. The attraction of desperation turns into the taste of loneliness and fear of the unknown and emotional outbursts begin to drown in the loss of illusions.
I was inspired to write a story about adolescence. It’s a tumultuous yet beautiful time that shapes us all so dramatically. I made this movie to revisit those moments, to honor that time and finally make peace with it.
Zdeněk Jiráský for Variety
WITHOUT CONFESSION – IVAN VOJNÁR´S FILM IN DEVELOPMENT
The film’s theme opens up a discussion about guilt and conscience. It offers an exploration of the evil within us that may have caused pain to someone close. It resonates with vague, suppressed feelings that we all experience to some extent.
The main character, a man, tries to find the courage to take a step forward, to start facing his fears, and to attempt to make amends for the consequences of his actions.
He leaves the big city – the routine of his life – and sets out on a journey.
He travels through a melancholic homeland landscape, triggering memories buried deep in his subconscious.
Experiences and diverse encounters with people become a test and an attempt to overcome his feelings of guilt. The necessity to help his son and a sick girl serves as an impetus for his awakening.
The development of Ivan Vojnar’s new film has been supported by the State Cinematography Fund and the National Recovery Plan
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Watch in 4K. Download the promo file below
Endless Summer Syndrome at Raindance IFF!
Our coproduction feature Endless Summer Syndrome / Syndrom nekonečného léta / Le syndrome de l’eté sans fin will have its UK premiere at the RAINDANCE IFF https://raindance.org/festival-programme/endless-summer-syndrome-qa/ in the international competition category!
Delphine has it all — an affluent life, a prestigious career, an intelligent husband, and an adopted son and daughter. However, her splendidly idyllic holiday with the family by the pool takes a macabre turn when she learns that her husband may be having an affair with one of their kids.
Successful lawyer and mother Delphine receives an anonymous phone call that shifts her entire world – her husband Antoine could be having an inappropriate relationship with one of their adolescent adopted children. Delphine decides to uncover the real truth through observing her household, but may find out more than she is prepared for.
Kaveh Daneshmand’s film debut is a dark, mysterious investigation of the facades and illusions at play in the domestic home space. The surging, dissonant score by Matteo Hager and Jakub Trs powerfully reflects the gradual unravelling of Delphine’s psyche, as she urgently searches for answers.
While the impressive cinematography by Cédric Larvoire utilises a tight 4:3 aspect ratio that, paired with the frequent use of close ups and mirror images, enhances the tension and suspense permeating through each family interaction. And the vibrant, saturated colours of the summer landscape provide a bold juxtaposition to the unsettling subject matter, making the experience all the more disturbing as secrets are exposed.
Perturbing and nerve-racking, Endless Summer Syndrome highlights the distressing consequences of infidelity, reminding its viewers that family life is rarely perfect, and can be a guise for a darker reality that we are not always ready to confront.
Review by Larissa Guerrini-Maraldi
THE WAY THROUGH THE BLEAK WOODS – remastered version
The digitally remastered film poem The Way Trough the Bleak Woods from 1997 premiered at 58th KVIFF. The screening was presented by a delegation of authors – director Ivan Vojnár, cinematographer Jaromír Kačer and producer Galina Šustová.
At the debate after the screening, the director talked about what it is like to watch his work after more than 25 years. „Cinematography as a work of art somehow shows what is happening in the author or in the collective of filmmakers, but also what is happening in society. So today I see film in a completely different way. But I have that with other films as well. The ones I liked to watch in the 60s stopped appealing to me later on.“ Vojnár described.
„Remastering a new version of the film, by using modern technology, allowed the filmmakers to complete and subsequently present the film as they had originally intended, but technological or financial constraints at the time did not allow this.“
12 Slovak Film Academy Awards for BALLAD OF PIARGY
Historical drama directed by Ivo Trajkov won 12 awards of the Slovak Film Academy Slnko v sieti! VFX award goes to i/o post thanks to Jaromir Pesr and Michal Plicka! The film also won the Audience Award even though it is a black and white film! Michal Reich won the award for best editing, Ivo Heger for best sound and Ivo Trajkov and Jana Skořepová for best screenplay! Furthermore, the film was awarded for the best cinematography, costume, masks, set design and for the best acting performance in the female lead (Judit Bárdos – Pecháček) and male lead (Attila Mokos) and also in the female supporting role Jana Kvantiková.
Young, beautiful and poor, Juliša marries the son of the richest landowner in the village of Piargy, and finds herself in a family with very strict rules. She has to face the unpleasant pressure of her mother-in-law, and she cannot resist the violent seductions of her father-in-law. Nevertheless, Juliša falls in love with her husband’s father and a strange love triangle develops. But the forbidden secret does not remain hidden for long and everyone is eager to profit from it. Juliša’s sister, the people in the village and even the village priest. The village of Piargy lives a life of sin until one carnival night it disappears completely. It’s as if hell itself has swallowed it up with its people, houses and animals. Is the prophecy of the old psychic Ula about the coming of the Antichrist and the cruel punishment coming true?
DAFILMS
Our films are mostly on dafilms
Jako z filmu | dafilms.cz | filmy online
Obyčejný člověk | dafilms.cz | filmy online
Noc bezMoci | dafilms.cz | filmy online
Třetí poločas | dafilms.cz | filmy online
V tichu | dafilms.cz | filmy online
Punk je hned! | dafilms.cz | filmy online
Toyen | dafilms.cz | filmy online
WILD PRAGUE
How many „inhabitants“ does Prague have? This time, the creators of the award-winning film Planet Czechia set out on an expedition into the concrete jungle of the capital. Alongside us humans live unexpected animal neighbours, whose daily adventures the filmmakers have recorded thanks to state-of-the-art technology from an exceptional proximity. Where did the majestic mouflons come from in Prague? What will the green-footed hen do, which nutria are taking away the opportunity to nest? What winter hideout does the cute plch hide in on Petřín Hill? And what about the hornbill, will it find its mate in the nightly roar of the garden restaurant? Embark on an exciting expedition for the whole family to meet dozens of other animal heroes who secretly live in our metropolis.
THOSE WHO DANCE IN THE DARK
a new film by Jana Ševčíková wone at the Warsaw IFF and has been released in Czech cinemas!
Blindness has a thousand shades. We who are sighted see only one… The human will to overcome the limitations of varying degrees of blindness. Breaking up. Yearning for a life with someone else, someone to love and to touch. Dancing in place and in the dark. Dreams and reality. Simple stories can hide complicated fates and grand dramas. The characters’ energy and spontaneity is captivating and full of optimism. Empathy without sentimentality. The basic conundrum – how to show blindness through images. The black-and-white camera is focused on light and shadow, composition, and the protagonists’ movements as they navigate their surroundings. The music, complemented by expressively stylised sounds, immerses the viewer into the inner worlds of these six characters. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, never fear: A lyric from one of the songs becomes the film’s central message.
. dir: Jana Ševčíková, dop: Jaromír Kačer, edit: Lucie Haladová, sound: Pavel Dvořák
MIKADO
Mikado was presented at the 62nd Zlín IFF and is coming to Czech distribution with Balkanfilm
Mikado selected to the New Directors section of the 69th San Sebastian IFF!
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dir: Emanuel Pârvu, dop: Silviu Stavila, edit: Dan Stefan Parlog, sound: Mihai Bogos
Produced by Miruna Berescu from Romanian Famart Association and coproduced by Jordi Niubó from i/o post.
sales by WIDE
ABSENCE
Absence, our Iranian – Czech – Slovak co-production had its world premier at the 45th Sao Paulo IFF!
Asian premier took place at the 52nd Goa IFF! Award for the 2nd best Asian film at the Bengaluru IFF!
Rouzbeh arrives in Prague, far from his troubled family life in Tehran, to research his father’s past. Visiting the flat where his father, a communist expatriate, lived 50 years ago, in the times of Czechoslovakia, he is stopped by a policewoman investigating a recent accident. The current resident of the flat, Vladimir, who turns out to be Rouzbeh’s half-brother, has fallen out the window. Discovering hidden corners of Vladimir’s life and getting closer to his soul, Rouzbeh learns a shocking truth about his father, totally contradicting the image of a hero he had about him. This puts him on the path which led to Vladimir’s fall from the window.
directed by: Ali Mosaffa, cast: Ali Mosaffa, Zuzana Stivínová, Klára Melíšková, Zuzana Kronerová, Magdalena Borová, Petra Nečasová, Antonie Formanová a Leyla Hatami
The development was supported by Czech Film Fund a Creative Europe Media. The producton was supported by Slovak Audiovisual Fund and by Prague Film Fund.
Sales: Iranian Independents
SILENT LAND
Silent Land selected to the prestigious and only competition section Platform at 46th Toronto IFF!
The European premier took place at the Zurich IFF
FIPRESCI award from the 62nd Thessaloniki IFF !
A perfect couple rents a holiday home on a sunny Italian island. The reality does not live up to their expectations when they find out that the pool in the house is broken. Ignorant of the fact that the island faces water shortage, they ask for someone to fix it. The constant presence of a stranger invades the couple’s idea of safety and starts a chain of events, which makes them act instinctively and irrationally, heading to the darkest place in their relationship.
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directed by Aga Woszczyńska, dop Bartosz Swiniarski , editor Jarek Kamiński, sound design Marek Poledna
Produced by Agnieszka Wasiak at Lava Films (Sweat, Apples, Never Gonna Snow Again), Poland and Giovanni Pompili at Kino Produzioni, Italy in coproduction with Jordi Niubo at i/o post, Czech Republic. The film was supported by Polish Film Institute, EC1 Łódź – the City of Culture, Eurimages, MIC – Ministero della cultura Direzione generale Cinema ed audiovisivo and Czech Film Fund.
NEW EUROPE FILM SALES
I Would Not Change Anything
Our new documentary is born!
The film I Would Not Change Anything is a documentary portrait of Kateřina Morozová. Kateřina is already a grown-up young woman. After her birth she was placed in the baby institution, where she spent almost five years. But she was given a second chance and her life changed. The Centre for Adoption and Foster Care found a new, big and wonderful family with an open heart who accepted her even with her severe health handicap. This emotional documentary is a probe into the life of a person who never gave in to adversity and chose to live a full life. Kateřina’s frank confession is undoubtedly an inspiration for anyone who would like to complain about their life.
Please find out more about the work of the Centre for Adoption and Foster Care and help for children in need and families here: www.nahradnirodina.cz
OROSLAN
slovinsko – česká koprodukce po uvedení na MFF Locarno, Cineasti del Presente, dále putuje po festivalech: Portoros Film Festival – Vesna Award Best Supporting Actor (Slovenia), Viennale – Competition (Austria), Thessaloniki Film Festival – Competition (Greece), Gijon Film Festival – Llendes Section (Spain), Author’s Film Festival (Serbia), Trieste Film Festival (Italy)
Příběh dvou bratrů vyprávěný ze tří rozdílných perspektiv.
režie Matjaž Ivanišin
https://vimeo.com/327699578
THE OLD BELIEVERS
Please have look at the before/after test from the recently digitized documentary film OLD BELIEVERS of director and producer Jana Ševčíková. The digitalization was supported by Czech Film Fund and we became proud co-producers. The film will be soon available in 4K/2K/HD formats in cinemas and on selected VOD platforms with Czech and English subtitles.
SHADOW COUNTRY
Czech Critics Award: best feature of 2020 is Shadow Country and best actress Magdalena Borová. Congratulations! We are honored to be part of this unique feature.
15 nominations for Czech Lions! We cross our fingers for the best! Narrative, black & white and shot on 35 mm film!
Shadow Country tells a story of people in a small town of Schwarzwald, dragged by history through the events of 30’s and 40’s of the last century. How to reconcile with killings committed by your own neighbors? How to face growing evil that nobody stands against? What can human will overcome and what is the value of humility and hope? Bohdan Sláma is shooting on negative and in black and white. The Shadow Country is an incredibly topical film full of powerful stories that you must see on a big screen.
PUNK NEVER ENDS
A film by Juraj Šlauka is nominated for 6 awards at the Slovak National Awards Slnko v sieti!
best: feature, director, script, music, costume design, actor in a leading role
A film inspired by the closely observed life of punks, who spend their lives on the periphery of the city. A thirty-year-old drug addict lives in a decaying sublet at a dump with his partner and his two-year-old son. His “idyllic” world is suddenly threatened by a letter from the social services. In fear of losing the child, the punk pulls himself together and attempts to resolve the situation. His impulsive behaviour, however, does not take any account of the consequences, and all the opportunities turn into a free fall.
OROSLAN
Slovenian – Czech coproduction directed by Matjaž Ivanišin on a festival journey: IFF Locarno – Cineasti del Presente, Portoros Film Festival – Vesna Award Best Supporting Actor (Slovenia), Viennale – Competition (Austria), Thessaloniki Film Festival – Competition (Greece), Gijon Film Festival – Llendes Section (Spain), Author’s Film Festival (Serbia), Trieste Film Festival (Italy)
https://vimeo.com/327699578
A story of two brothers told from three different perspectives
ALULA
our short Alula was selected to 65th Oberhausen IFF
Waiting for her parents to pick her up, a bored young girl lets her imagination drift her away to the dark side.
Directed by Kaveh Daneshmand
INSECTS
new feature film by the famous Czech director Jan Švankmajer has recently arrived to cinemas.
Exclusive digital to 35mm color intermediate transfer of the film recording developed by i/o post in collaboration with the Czech TV laboratories.
Insects is a surreal comedy film directed by Jan Švankmajer, the film is based on the play Pictures from the Insects’ Life by Karel and Josef Čapek. Švankmajer says that the film will be his last. It premiered on 26 January 2018 at International Film Festival Rotterdam. The film follows amateur actors rehearsing Pictures from the Insects’ Life. The actors find themselves living out their characters’ roles and hallucinating insects. Insects is intercut with the creative process of the film itself and interviews with the actors about their dreams.
The most nominations at the 25th Czech Lion Awards obtained by the film Ice Mother
Ice Mother, produced by Negativ ( Pavel Strnad and Petr Oukropec), is the winner of the best film feature prize at the 2018 Czech Film and Television Academy (CFTA) awards. Additionally, it got 5 more awards – for the best director (Bohdan Sláma), the best actress in leading role (Zuzana Kronerová), the best actor in leading role (Pavel Nový), the best actress in supporting role (Petra Špalková) and also for the best original screenplay (Bohdan Sláma). Little Crusader, directed by Václav Kadrnka, the film feature winner at IFF Karlovy Vary in 2017 got the prize in the category for the best film score and was nominated in 9 more categories. Co-production and complete visual postproduction of both films by i/o post. Congratulations to the winners!
STORY OF MY DEATH by ALBERT SERRA
It was an honour and a great pleasure to work with Albert Serra on his masterpiece awarded the Pardo di Oro / Golden Leopard at the 66th Locarno IFF. We provided colour correction, VFX, DCP mastering and 35mm film recording and you definitely should not miss this remarkable gem where Casanova meets Dracula.
Casanova is acquainted with his new manservant, who will bear witness to his final days of life. Leaving a French château with its typical 18th century licentious atmosphere, he spends his final days in impoverished, dismal northern Europe. There, his frivolous, high society world crumbles, as well as his Enlightenment rationalism, when faced with the new, violent, esoteric and romantic force of Dracula and his eternal power.
Albert Serra enters the eighteenth century with a drama—carnal, whimsical, tremulous, intimate, philosophical—that’s set partly in Switzerland and partly in Transylvania. The setup could be described as “Casanova meets Dracula”—or, sceptical, empirical modernity, the cult of calculated, maximized pleasure meets the cult of pain and mystique, of the irrepressible and inextricable atavistic and pre-rational forces.