Films 2023
IL BOEMO / Il Boemo
2022 CZ, SK, IT | Biopic / Drama | 140 min
Awards: The Golden Kingfisher - Best Film Nominee, FIPRESCI - Best Foreign Language Film Nominee
Festivals: San Sebastian
The opening night film features the extraordinary and unknown life story of the most reputed Czech composer Josef Mysliveček – “Il Boemo “– one of the most prolific opera composers in 18th century Italy, who inspired Mozart and became his friend. Very demanded in Naples, he was celebrated in Venice, then the pleasure capital of Europe.
The movie reconstructs Josef’s tragic fate in a visually captivating way within the authentic realities of the time, depicting his humble beginnings in Venice, where he left his native Prague to become a famous musician. With the help of his talent, but also his charismatic performance when around women, the unknown Czech musician quickly turns into a recognized opera composer. The movie structure follows the typical hierarchy of a musical opera: it starts with a prelude, goes through subdivision of two to five acts and finishes in a final epilogue.
SHORT FILM: REFLECTION / Odrazy | 2021 CZ | Animation | 5:33 min
ENJOY A FREE BECHEROVKA COCKTAIL ON ARRIVAL
FRI 24/03/23 6:30 PM
DIRECTOR Petr Václav
LANGUAGE Italian, Czech | English Subtitle
AGE 15+
CAST Vojtěch Dyk
Martina Babišová,
Barbara Ronchi,
Rana Vlady,
ELena Radonicich,
Karel Roden,
Alberto Cracco,
Lino Musella,
Cristiano Donati
THE ENCHANTED CAVE / Zakliata jaskyňa |
2022 SK, CZ, HU | Fairy tale | 98 min
Hidden in a vast forest, part of a mining region of the Slovak mountains, lies a cave that flouts great riches. It has provided livelihood and prosperity for the whole kingdom for centuries, as it contains treasures, salt and precious rubies. There is an abundant supply of salt available, and the kingdom lives and profits from it, though no one is allowed to take anything from the beautiful ruby hall, as the legend says whoever just touches the rubies will be cursed. It won’t take long for a careless act to take place that will disturb the fragile balance of the entire kingdom… This family fairy tale takes you back to a time of legends and myths, presenting a story full of tension, mystery and adventure, as well as the ability to find one's own courage and discover true love.
Happy Go Ducky is a proud sponsor of this Fairy Tale.
After the film, 3 lucky children will receive a beautiful handmade toy in the raffle.
SAT 25/03/23 1:30 PM
DIRECTOR Mariana Čengel Solčanská
LANGUAGE Slovak | English Subtitles
AGE G rated (all audiences)
CAST Tereza BEBAROVÁ,
Dominick BENEDIKT,
Predrag BJELAC,
Karel DOBRÝ
Jan DOLANSKÝ
THE BARNABÁŠ KOS CASE / Prípad Barnabáš Kos
1964 CZSK | Comedy / Satire | 90 min
Enter the world of Barnabáš Kos - Bratislava Symphony Orchestra member who plays the triangle. As it turns out, his heart really isn’t in it however. Sometimes he’s late to rehearsal because he has other volunteer commitments or he doesn’t show up at all, for no particular reason. So imagine his surprise when he receives a letter telling him the government has now appointed him the new director of the orchestra. Even though he tries to refuse, the wheels of communist bureaucracy are implacable, and it’s made clear to him that it would not be advantageous to turn the position down... The government has full confidence in him, after all. A satirical comedy about the weakness of the human soul and the vanity of men who achieve power.
SHORT FILM: SHELLS / Schránky | 2022 CZ | Documentary | 9 min
SAT 25/03/23 4:00PM
DIRECTOR Peter Solan
LANGUAGE Czech, Slovak | English Subtitles
AGE G rated (all audiences)
CAST Ján Bzdúch
Josef Kemr,
Jarmila Košťová,
Dagmar Kákosová,
Viliam Polónyi,
Jaroslav Rozsíval,
Hana Sarvasová…
THE WORD / Slovo
2022 CZ, SK, PL | Drama | 104 min
AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE
Awards: Karlovy Vary IFF - Crystal Globe Best Director & Best Actor
Festivals: KVIFF, HAIFA IFF, Palm Springs IFF, Cinecitta IFF
The vows of a committed couple are challenged by the invasion of the Soviet Army in 1968. The movie tells a vivid portrait of the family of notary Václav Vojíř, a small-town moral authority, and his selfless wife Věra. Václav is a meticulous law expert and a strict man of noble principles. His expertise is not enough to secure his position, however, since he is not a member of the ruling Communist Party, membership in which goes against his principles. Each time Václav refuses to join the Party, the uninvited ‘guests’ and their requests to wield his community influence on their behalf get a little less polite, hinting at dire consequences for him and his family. This masterfully told and intimate drama, whose protagonists undergo a difficult ordeal of the summer of 1968, is reinforced by finely wrought, exquisite performances from Martin Finger and Gabriela Mikulková.
SHORT FILM: SUZIE IN GARDEN / Zuza v zahradách | 2022 CZ/SK | Animation | 13 min
SAT 23/03/23 7:00PM
DIRECTOR Beata Parkanová LANGUAGE Czech | English Subtitles
AGE G rated (all audiences)
CAST Martin Finger,
Gabriela Mikulková,
Bolek Polívka,
Taťjana Medvecká,
Jenovéfa Boková,
Marek Geišberg,
Ondřej Sokol,
Lea Bankó
SUPERWOMAN / SuperŽena
2022 SK | Dramedy | 108 min
What does a series of deep stares into the eyes of the main protagonists, an old married couple facing a cynical young woman, a porn actress pondering about life and two unlikely train passengers on a train between Bratislava and Prague have in common?
The movie stars six female protagonists, each with her own little story written by a male screenwriter, each of which were tasked to write a film on the topic: ‘how do you imagine a superwoman?’, resulting in an unexpectedly surprising combination of plots and situations stemming from the seemingly inexhaustible well of the women's world… We meet women in various situations, which at first glance have nothing to do with the idea of a woman in superlatives, which only makes the stories more surprising.
SHORT FILM: ANA / Ana | 2022 SK | Animation | 6:45 min
SUN 26/03/23 4:00PM
DIRECTOR Karol Vosátko
LANGUAGE Slovak | English Subtitles
AGE 15+
CAST Natálie Topinková,
Renáta Ryníková,
Zuzana Kubovčíková-Šebová,
Diana Mórová,
Marko Igonda,
Zuzana Porubjaková,
Tatiana Dyková…
GRAND PRIX / Grand Prix
2022 CZ | Comedy / Drama | 107 min
AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE
Grand Prix follows the story of two cousins, Roman and Emil, whose dream is to get into the Formula 1 races. Roman runs a dirty car dealership on the outskirts of the city, has three children and a wild wife, while Emil, a keen lover of order, runs his car workshop in the center and knows almost everything about cars. When one day Emil wins tickets to the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona in a televised contest, little do they know that their dream trip will soon turn into a wild ride across Europe. Especially when ‘Štětka’, Roman's friend and a local trouble magnet, decided to join them… Join their journey filled with incorrect humour, showing Europe full of side roads, cheap motels and rest stops all the way to F1 Grand Prix.
SHORT FILM: HOOD UNION / Sídlisková spojka | 2022 SK | Drama / Ficton 11:40 min
SUN 26/03/23 7:00 PM
DIRECTOR Martin Ťapák LANGUAGE Slovak | English Subtitles
AGE 15+
CAST Kryštof Hádek,
Robin Ferro,
Štěpán Kozub,
Anna Kameníková,
Miroslav Donutil,
Marek Daniel,
Tatiana Dyková,
Cyril Drozda
MEDIEVAL / Jan Žižka
2022 CZ | History / Action / Drama | 125 min
AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE
Experience the most expensive Czech film in history, the Czech 'Braveheart' drama directed and produced by Petr Jakl, a former Sydney Olympic medalist… As feuding brothers battle for control of the throne, a Bohemian military leader and a stoic man of action Jan Žižka embarks on a mission to kidnap Lady Katherine, the fiancee of a powerful lord. In a brave attempt to liberate her, he fights back with a rebel army, battling the corruption, greed and betrayal that runs rampant among those clawing for power. Being the Czech Republic’s most expensive feature to date, the film works to mythologize Jan Žižka – already a historical Czech icon – with both a love story and a political rebirth on the background of violent skirmishes and sword fights.
FRI 31/03/23 6:30 PM
DIRECTOR Petr Jákl LANGUAGE English | English Subtitles
AGE 15+
CAST Ben Foster,
Sophie Lowe,
Michael Caine,
Til Schweiger,
Matthew Goode,
William Moseley,
Roland Møller,
Karel Roden,
Jan Budař
GOOD OLD CZECHS / Good old Czechs
2022 CZ, SK | Documentary | 83 min
AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE
During WWII., Czechoslovakian airmen fought across the whole of Europe. This Odyssean story follows two Czech men who served in Britain's RAF - yet on return to their home country, a hero's welcome merges into persecution, as the Communist Party seized power. The documentary is based on memories of František Fajtl, Filip Jánský and their literary legacy, serving as a timeless and poignant recounting of young lives sacrificed in wartime. Shot in accordance with the functionalist idea of form following the function and leveraging archive storytelling as well as never-before-seen footage, it allows the audience to experience both the momentous historical events and daily wartime life through the eyes of the airmen as if they took place here and now.
SHORT FILM: ISLAND OF FREEDOM / Ostrov svobody | 2022 CZ | Drama | 26 min
SAT 1/04/23 1:30PM
DIRECTOR Tomáš Bojar
LANGUAGE Czech | English Subtitles
AGE G rated (all audiences)
CAST voice over only
MY SUNNY MAAD / Moje slunce Mad
2021 CZ, SK, FR | Drama / Animation | 85 min
Awards: Annecy IAFF - Best Feature Film Winner, Future Film Festival - First Prize Winner, Bucheon IAFF - International Competition Feature Film Winner
Oscar nominated and internationally acclaimed Czech animator Michaela Pavlátová’s feature animation story lays a gentle humor and well observed everyday details of the family life. It begins when Helena decides to leave her everyday life in Prague to marry her beloved classmate Nazir in Kabul. Under the name Herra, she begins a new life stage in an exotic environment. But there is no easy way to the dream future. Not everyone has as big a heart as Nazir and as much sense of humor as the head of the family, progressive and warm grandfather. Herra is looking for her place in the new world when a sensitive boy Mad from the distant mountains unexpectedly enters her life. It turns out that happiness can find a person in situations where he would least expect it… My Sunny Maad sensitively portrays the complex environment of Kabul in the second decade of the 21st century and captures the ambivalent feelings expressed by many Afghans towards the West.
SHORT FILM: CONNECTED / Connected | 2022 SK | Animation | 9 min
SAT 1/04/23 4:00 PM
DIRECTOR Michaela Pavlátová LANGUAGE Czech | English Subtitles
AGE G rated (all audiences)
CAST Zuzana Stivínová,
Hynek Čermák,
Ivan Trojan,
Miroslav Krobot,
Eliška Balzerová,
Berenika Kohoutová
THE BALLAD OF PIARGY / Piargy
2021 SK, CZ, MK | Drama | 100 min
AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE
Awards: LOS ANGELES CINEMATOGRAPHY AWARDS /LACA/ - Best Feature Film, Song, Art Director, Cinematographer, Producer, Best Black & White Film
A love story about unclear guilt, love and cruel punishment, which in its lyrical beauty bears witness to destruction… A movie with 30+ awards and counting. It is spring 1939 and the bishop in Banska Bystrica finds out that in the village of Piargy, buried by an avalanche a few days ago, the Antichrist was born. The bishop asks a Catholic priest Balaz to investigate the only survivor of the catastrophe - Johanka - and find out what happened. Did Antichrist return to the world or is it just Johanka’s imagination? The ballad of Piargy tells a story of lust and superstition embellished with magical realism and Slovak history with rising fascism at its backdrop. It is a symbol of modern Sodom and Gomorrah, a mirror of the distorted morals of the society, as well as it is a naturalistic metaphor for the subordinate position of women in the patriarchal society.
SHORT FILM: SISTERS / Sestry | 2021 CZ | Animation | 11:20 min
SAT 1/04/23 7:00PM
DIRECTOR Ivo Trajkov
LANGUAGE Slovak | English Subtitles
AGE 12+
CAST Judit Bárdos,
Lucia Siposová,
Jana Kvantiková,
Daniel Fischer,
Marián Geisberg,
Jana Olhová,
Matěj Struhár,
Lucia Klein Svoboda…
M. KOCÁB - ROCKER vs. POLITICIAN / M. Kocáb - Rocker versus politik
2022 CZ, SK | Documentary | 102 min
AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE
Prepare for art and politics to collide on-screen. Michael Kocáb, one of the key figures of Czech culture, politics, and civic society, has his whole life linked with the fight for human rights, political culture, and democracy. The movie follows stages of Kocáb's life, as it progresses from the key moments of childhood, youth and adulthood to mature age, through which he looks at himself and his life so far. Though it focuses primarily on the artistic pursuits of the protagonist, it also maps his political and personal milestones and conveys his current world views and reflections on historical and political events. Rocker vs. Politician tells a story of life optimism, humility towards success and a self-ironic reflection of one's own mistakes and errors
SHORT FILM: WHEN I GROW UP / Až vyrostu | 2021 CZ | Animation | 3:35 min
SUN 2/04/23 4:00PM
DIRECTOR Olga Sommerová LANGUAGE Czech | English Subtitles
AGE G rated (all audiences)
CAST Michael Kocáb
BORDERS OF LOVE / Hranice lásky
2022 CZ, PL | Erotic Drama | 95 min
AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE
Awards: Karlovy Vary International Film Festival - Best Film Winner
Hana and Petr are stuck in a rut with their marriage. As a result of sexual boredom creeping in, they decide to introduce some cheeky games to spice up their love life but to no avail… As a next step, they agree to open up their relationship so they can enjoy extra-marital adventures, under the condition that they will remain honest, sharing their new intimate experiences with one another. But the experiment takes a darker turn when their enjoyment of this newly acquired freedom morphs into a power struggle - he gets a bit tired and jealous, while she develops strong feelings for someone else…
SHORT FILM: RED SHOES / Rudé boty | 2021 CZ | Animation | 14 min
SUN 2/04/23 6:30PM
DIRECTOR Tomasz Winski
LANGUAGE Czech | English Subtitles
AGE 18+
CAST Hana Vagnerová,
Matyáš Řezníček,
Eliška Křenková,
Martin Hofmann,
Lenka Krobotová,
Hynek Čermák