Discoveries from Czechoslovakia World Cinema

Stylized portrait of a Czech disfunctional family. Personal insight into poverty, art, relationships and oneself...

The fifth and last episode of the "Who threw that, gentlemen?" series. The series is the continuation of the previous "bear" series "Hey, Mister, let's play?". This time the bears decide to grow carrots and turnips. While working they come across a billy-goat who wants to relieve them of their crop. The bears force him to return the carrots and turnips and to carry all the crops back to their home.

Tom Thumb wants to help his parents, but he’s so tiny that he’s not much help to them. Determined to fix this, he decides to go search for a Magician who can solve his little problem. However, it’s not always advisable to dabble in magic…

One of a trilogy of animated shorts based on Moravian folk ballads.

A young aristocrat is madly in love with an inventor, but her parents arrange her marriage to an old army general.

Documentary illustrating the classic principles of Byzantine iconography on the examples of sixteen icons from a museum of ancient Greek art.

Film study of Slovak folk sculpture, composed in ballad form.

1973 Czech experimental short by Petr Skala

1972 Czech experimental short by Petr Skala

1973 Czech experimental short by Petr Skala.

The millionaire who stole the sun, adaptation of a social tale by Jiri Wolker. A millionaire who owns a whole town, its factories and workers, falls ill. The surgeons tell him that sunshine is the only cure for him. The millionaire orders the sun to be taken down from the sky and put in a metal enclosure to shine only for himself...

Ironbark Bill has to buck a broncho using his strong lasso.

The mobilisation of the army changes the life of a young man. He becomes a figure on a chess board of war. A piece of shrapnel blinds him and his cries of "I cannot see" become a refrain symbolising the horrors of war."

Starting out from pianist Frantisekk Rauch's interpretation of the Fifth Concerto for piano and orchestra, Drahomíra Vihanová unveils the artist's mysterious character and acquaints us with his immense mastery of his art. She films the different stages of interpretation — reflection, preparation, execution — in order to focus on the process of artistic research and creation.

A story of a married couple navigating everyday life under the weight of unequal labor.

This propaganda film reflects the rhetoric of the 1948 election campaign. Through black-and-white contrasts, emotional appeals, and threats of a “return of the Germans,” it urges citizens to view the elections as a moral duty toward the future of the upcoming young generation.

A mother of two children expends the same amount of calories caring for her family and household as a tractor driver does during eight hours of work. A scientific experiment based on data from the Occupational Safety Research Institute and the Institute of Hygiene and Diseases converts activities such as doing laundry, carrying groceries, and bathing children into numbers, thereby highlighting the amount of work that society overlooks as a gender-specific given.

Food is a narcotic, an idol, a refuge for sad people. This timeless popular science film by the Institute of Health Education searches for the cause of obesity in the new human species, homo sedentarius, the sedentary man, and develops various strategies to defeat the mountains of fat that have grown out of the patriotic triad of dumplings, sauerkraut, and pork.

The poetic autumn landscape of the Mikulov region, accompanied by the voice of Jaroslav Satoranský, comes alive with grape harvesting, barrels of maturing wine, and wine tasting. The film, created in collaboration with Moravian Wineries in Mikulov, is accompanied by the stories of winemakers, which convey a deep connection to the place and nature.

Two hours a day—this is the price every working woman pays for producing culinary delights. Engineers at the research facility of the electrothermal equipment plant in Prague-Záběhlice have come up with a miraculous device that can fulfil women's dreams of having more free time. It is the magnetron stove, commonly known as the microwave oven.

What have we got here, bacteria? At first glance, they look like abstract paintings, but at second glance, they are swarms of pests filling hospital beds. Laboratory staff, acting as chemical police, search for sources of infection, and save society from pandemics. This jazz-inspired educational film takes a critical look at the hygiene conditions in food stores and production facilities.

Waiters and waitresses perform a ballet of salads, forks, and desserts as the main characters in a culinary performance at one of the restaurants operated by the Jednota co-operative. Under the watchful eye of their supervisor, the employees implement a set of rules, instructions, and regulations that represent a kind of shadow world of their own, hidden behind the scenes of the restaurant, and behind the backs of the diners.

The stove is the saddest altar to which half of humanity sacrifices its abilities, strength, and satisfaction. This critical portrait bitterly comments on the double-edged meaning of emancipation in post-war society, which built up the image of the working woman, but did not abandon the cult of the housewife. Labour market reform is not complete without reform of the household.

A promotional film about production at ČKD Kompresory was made by the Krátký film custom production studio. The film served the company for its own purposes, mainly for representation and instruction. Shot on narrow 16mm film, it could be easily presented at industrial exhibitions, but also to the company's own employees and business partners.

A commercial promoting Šotek Hellada [Goblin Hellada] washing powder. In a laundry room, a washing boiler blows out steam and a washboard and a brush lie in the trough. The two washing tools then come alive - the washboard turns into a laundress and the brush into a man. The two begin dancing together while the brush plays harmonica and sings: "What a misery in this world, no one fears us any more, we are useless, everybody deserted us." The washboard and the brush die, and the trough serves them as a coffin. There appears a sign "Here rest the scrubbing brush and the washboard", followed by a view of a box of Šotek Hellada [Goblin Hellada] washing powder, the musical score to the song "This is our Goblin, washing with Goblin is just playing" and the Hellada trademark.

A commercial promoting the washing powder Radion. Its title character is a racoon using the washing powder to wash dirty laundry for the big bears. The Slovak distribution title of the film originates from its surviving copy. The commercial for the Czechoslovak-based Schicht company (Jiří Schicht a. s.) was filmed abroad.

A commercial promoting Schicht's margarine Vitello. A cow and a hen go to the factory producing the margarine Vitello, where they hand in their milk and eggs, the material necessary for the production. The next to come is a coconut tree with its coconuts – and the margarine is ready in just a moment. The commercial was filmed by the German Excentric Film Berlin company for the company Centra Děčín. The application for the censorship approval was submitted by the Brother Degl's Prague company.

Animated cartoon maps illustrated the Development of systematic Electrification of West Bohemia from February 1919 till 1929. Information about the censorship proceedings did not survive.

A commercial promoting Ceres margarine produced by the Schicht factory. A grocery sport competition in the disciplines fat percentage, nutritional value and prize is participated in by cheese, egg, goose, chocolate, butter, flour and 100% clean margarine Ceres. The margarine Ceres always wins with absolute superiority.

A commercial promoting the shoes of the Baťa company. The commercial for the Baťa company, based in the Czech town of Zlín, was probably filmed abroad. Information about the censorship proceedings and the producer and autors did not survive.

Unknown Description

Unknown, but likely a part of the 'Colouring - Singings' series of children's animation.

Unknown, but likely a part of the 'Colouring - Singings' series of children's animation.

Unknown Description

Skala film produced 1968.

A story about a scarecrow who tries to protect his hat from curious people.