Discoveries from Czech Republic World Cinema

The concept of apparatgeist expresses how people's relationship to technology is evolving and how their social contacts are changing. The film focuses on the phenomenon of mobile phones, which it presents in the allegorical space of the apparatgeist, a desolate, inhospitable place where the displays of ubiquitous smartphones act as windows into the worlds of internet mundanity and the bizarre, as well as a springboard for interaction with digital devices.

'Growing a Samorost' is a new documentary movie throwing light on the development process of Samorost 3, the latest part of the Samorost trilogy, released on PC and Mac in March 2016 and later on mobile. Take a look behind the scenes with the game's developers and artists and learn how they approached the creation of its art style and sound, as well as the game design itself.

A mega concert by the most popular Czech band, which celebrated its 20th anniversary this year at the O2 Arena in Prague... The band Chinaski, which first made its mark on the Czech music scene with the hit "Dlouhej kouř" from the album of the same name, is one of the most popular pop-rock bands in the country. Virtually every album by the group contains several hits that have ranked high in the charts and have become some of the most played songs on domestic radio stations. The band Chinaski has been successful many times in the Czech music polls Žebřík and Český slavík and has also been awarded several times by the Academy of Popular Music with the Anděl award. This year, the band celebrated its twentieth anniversary. They celebrated this event with a mega-concert on February 6, 2014, at the O2 Arena in Prague, which we are broadcasting in a television recording.

Live broadcast of an acrobatic light show by a Czech contemporary circus troupe from the end of the Letní Letná festival... The Czech troupe Losers Cirque Company is definitely on par with many foreign troupes in the field of contemporary circus. This is evidenced by the highly successful premiere of the performance Kolaps (Collapse), which took place at the end of the Letní Letná festival on August 31, 2017. The great strength of Kolaps lies not only in its physical and acrobatic perfection, but also in its subtle humor, play with light, and live music. That is why this amusing performance, which depicts human life from birth to death, is returning to Letní Letná this year. Czech Television is delighted to be involved, not least because it will be the first complete performance by a Czech company in this genre to be shown on our screens.

In the 1980s, dozens of Namibian children were brought up in socialist Czechoslovakia. The aim of this special education program was to raise a new generation of children as a politically conscious elite. But the experiment ended in the early 1990s following fundamental political changes in both countries. The children were forcibly repatriated back to Namibia where they were unable to adapt culturally due to never having completed their elementary education nor receiving any formal language and psychological training. Documentary filmmakers tracked down the now-adult Namibian children and followed their fates both in Namibia and in the Czech Republic over the course of three years.

The film portrait of a face made of shit thematizes the individual's ideas about his own freedom. Antonín dolák, philosopher and YouTuber, feels free when he gets rid of all social conventions. He loses his face, takes off his mask and talks openly about the socially taboo topics that line his life. However, a conflict arises between him and the staff, when Dolak loses control over the depiction of himself.

A series of 11 short films from 6 countries: Land of the Cowboys (Soviets), Composition (Slovenia), Fences (Poland), Rivers (Poland), Beyond the Border (Hungary), Mosaic, Waltz of Sleep (Poland), Wolf Games (Croatia), Strange Sounds (Hungary), Fairy Tale (Hungary), The More I Know (Czech Republic) and Happy End (Czech Republic).

When Rong was a small child she and her parents moved from Vietnam to Prague. Now she is grown up and remembers that time and what it was like to feel like a foreigner.

Tůma's film is a sovereign cinematographic space, which, broken up into many chapters, takes an unconventional look at contemporary Czech society. The opening political grotesque on the election of the President is drowned out by the ecstatic ramblings of philosophising (and chattering) fragments turning on the sought-out axis of life and the world, and especially the inward-looking images full of colourful objectivity and charming humour that is elevated to the level of pure poetry.

Filmed over a number of years, David Vondráček’s powerful documentary records the lives of Jan and Jana, a homeless couple who find refuge in a cemetery in the Prague borough of Strašnice. Living on food from garbage containers and trading the books and porn magazines they find there, they nonetheless live lives of independence, love and humour. Jana, a former prostitute, tries to visit her daughter while Jan visits his aged mother after many years, but both fail to re-establish links with their past. Through identification with their everyday world, Vondráček reaches the human reality and complexity beneath the surface, a world not so different from that of the supposedly successful. Eventually, they are expelled from their temporary home with heartbreaking consequences. Vondráček’s award-winning documentary reveals the breadth of experience – even vibrancy – surviving in the world of the dispossessed.

It is not common for artistic talent to emerge in twin sisters. Sisters Jitka Válová and Květa Válová, who grew up together in Kladno, developed their artistic vision of the world and the relationships within it, each in their own way.

African Ride takes you on a breathtaking adventure, where Tomáš Vejmola, a brave tuktuk collector, sets out on an almost impossible mission - to cross the African continent in a small, three-wheeled tuktuk. Without any modifications, with only the determination and support of his friend David Žváček, they embark on an incredible 111-day journey through the roughest and most demanding terrains, with the goal of driving from South Africa all the way home to Hranice na Moravě. On their way, they meet fascinating indigenous tribes and learn about their unique culture. They drive through national parks and come into close contact with wild African wildlife. With a good dose of humor, they reveal the true face of this stunning continent - without frills, authentic and unbridled. The African Ride is a story of courage, perseverance and untamed human curiosity that will draw you into a world of unexpected challenges, fascinating encounters and unique wildlife experiences.

Dogs, incredible companions, can be trained to possess abilities such as illness detection, seizure alerts, and even scent identification for crime-solving. In the Czech Republic, scent evidence, collected using absorbent materials, is pivotal in convictions. Unlike some countries where it's supplementary, here it's often the sole proof, lacking collaboration with scientists and leading to significant consequences – scent evidence often becomes the crucial or even sole piece of evidence leading to the conviction of the accused, carrying catastrophic consequences…

The film captures the work of the Tomáš couple from the second half of the 1990s until the end. It conveys the unique and unrepeatable atmosphere of regular meetings in the packed large hall of Prague's Lucerna, where people from all over the country gathered to listen in quiet and concentrated contemplation to words that brought inner peace and liberating knowledge. People sat on the floor, the balconies were filled to capacity, and visitors didn't mind that they couldn't see the stage; it was enough just to listen...

Film about the tragic history of the illustrious Neumann family house, one of the last remaining old building of the Zizkov district of Prague.

A young woman’s husband is mysteriously taken away from her at dawn. She tries to mourn by remembering him through objects and imitation but this leads to a destructive discovery of her desires towards the mysterious entities that took her husband away. She finds herself in a realistic limbo of unexpected desires.

Stepan believes that an abandoned well can help his comatose sister.

A documentary about a reporter, documentary filmmaker, great-granddaughter of Ferdinand Peroutka, and one of the most prominent figures in the world of contemporary war photography.

Short film about the stuggles of dancing.

a student film made by Vojtěch Kotek

Siblings must deal with the presence of their sister’s dark cloud, a threat that will change their life forever.

What does Earth look like? When you close your eyes, you imagine it as a blue planet – yet this image is surprisingly recent. Since the first picture of our earth from space continuous advances in space exploration have been providing entirely new perspectives. This show reveals how Earth observation programs allows us to observe our planet differently, helping us quickly and effectively respond to Earth's ongoing changes.

Vitek, a troubled young man, seeks out his younger brother Josef (Pepa) who is a well-adjusted adoptee with a stable home life—for help. Over the course of a single day, their reunion spirals from dark humor to deep confrontation, exposing buried traumas, fractured family bonds, and the unspoken love between siblings raised in different worlds.

The discovery of previously unknown recordings of Hrabal's lectures provides a rare, intimate insight into the author's world. The documentary film The Gentle Hrabal allows his authentic voice to be heard again after almost fifty years. Here, Hrabal speaks to students at his cottage in Kersko, and at other times to parishioners at the Protestant rectory in Libice.

The number of anxiety, depression, and suicide cases among young people is growing. Parents are often helpless and don't know where to seek help. There is a shortage of mental health professionals for children and adolescents in Czechia, and waiting times can be several months long. The heroes and heroines of this documentary also struggle with mental health issues. Karolína, Jakub, Kristýna, and Michael, all in their twenties, offer an open and honest insight into what it is like to experience a mental crisis. At the same time, together with their families and loved ones, they explain what has helped them and continues to help them lead a fulfilling life.

After hundreds of years, thanks to Prague Zoo, the last species of wild horse, Przewalski's horse, is returning home to Kazakhstan. In June 2024, two military aircraft took off with a special cargo on board. Seven Przewalski's horses are heading via Istanbul and Baku to the old abandoned airport of Arkalyk in central Kazakhstan. Thus begins the return of wild horses to the Golden Steppe, which was originally their home.

The layering of memories of four witnesses takes shape as a self-ironic fossil of a town disappearing under the weight of coal mining. When home falls, what is it that we wish to preserve?

According to a 2021 study by analysts from Palacký University, around ten percent of teachers surveyed had difficulty distinguishing facts from disinformation. In this documentary report, we explore how disinformation can be identified within the education system and how both teachers and students can protect themselves against it.

We live in a world which is bombarding us with images, stimuli, sensations and demands – what are the possibilities of escape, and which of them are the right ones? Director and artist Anastázie Rainischová responds to the situation with another form of saturation – her short film is surprising for its mutual communication of seemingly contradictory animation techniques. The vibrant playfulness and mischief, and also the palpable unease beneath a veil of melancholy, shift the film’s aesthetics somewhere closer to David O’Reilly. Might the path to Zen take us past absolute overload?

A dance short film inspired by da Vinci's Last Supper, seasoned with a touch of Rembrandt's style, about the life and death of Jesus and his apostles.

Cyril Kostka is a dealer. His customers are willing to trample over each other for his goods—because Cyril sells something highly unusual... LEGO sets. While stepping on LEGO bricks is painful for most, not for his clients. The euphoric pain combined with self-indulgence creates an addictive experience. Cyril sees them all as pathetic losers, running away from the real world. But soon, he will have to face a much harder challenge—confronting his own distorted perception of reality and himself.

a short film by Vassu Pitsi made on Jihlava Academy

The phenomenon of negative manipulation is known to all of us, and very few of us can always defend ourselves and not have at least some remorse. And when the source of the manipulation is a supposed good, but it harms rather than helps and is part of a huge mental massage in a cult, we have a big problem. What effect can negative manipulation have on our lives? How to detect it and defend ourselves? We illustrate the topic with the story of Dusan Straus, a photographer and writer who got into the Chinmoy sect. Gradually, he left his job and started to devote himself only to the affairs of the sect. His wife hoped that it was only momentary, but he fell into the sect completely. The world outside the sect ceased to exist for him.

According to surveys, one of Europe's largest lithium deposits is located in Cínovec. Two thirds of it is found on the Czech side and one third on the German side. Both countries plan to start mining, but their processes may differ significantly. And, depending on the route taken, the environmental impact and quality of life for the local population may also differ.

Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, Tania Licheuskaya has been following the events at the Luninets air base in Belarus, and the black soup she cooks for uninvited guests from the neighbouring country becomes a symbol of resistance.