Discoveries from Czechoslovakia World Cinema

A work of reportage about the making of an amateur grotesque-style film, shot in 1937.

A silent film on the Czech hop-picking industry.

Everyone knows that frozen pork is best in summer, even in England. Only housewife Evička is unsure, so a TV guide advises her on how to prepare dinner from frozen meat so that František will enjoy it when he comes home from work. This educational film, presented from the perspective of a kind teacher, reveals the mechanisms and advantages of a progressive, centrally planned economy.

A commercial promoting cast-iron enamelled bathtubs produced by ČKD [Czech-Moravian Kolben Daněk] Blansko and the Shareholding Ironworks in Komárovo. Spejbl forces his son Hurvínek to bathe every Saturday in a trough, but the son protests that the trough is outdated and unfit for bathing, because he might even get a splinter in his body. He reproaches his father for breaking the promise of buying a new bathtub. Spejbl thus writes a letter to a plumber, and the content Hurvínek soon bathes in a new, cast-iron bathtub. The titles state that the show was performed by the Pilsner Puppet Theatre of Ferial Settlements with the approval of the author of the puppets, Professor Josef Skupa.

A commercial promoting Sarg's Kalodont toothpaste. In the morning, the Sun in the sky wakes up little angels who start cleaning their teeth with Kalodont toothpaste immediately. At noon, they clean their teeth again under the supervision of St Peter, while in the evening their mouth hygiene is overseen by the Moon. The angels use the same toothpaste in the morning, at noon as well as in the evening. The Moon observes Earth through a telescope, watching a beautiful girl who also prefers Kalodont toothpaste. The commercial for the Czechoslovak-based Schicht company (Jiří Schicht a. s.) was filmed abroad. The Bulletin of the Ministry of Interior only provides the German title of the film; information about the existence of the Czech distribution title did not survive. The given Czech title was translated from German.

Art film on the topic of environmental devastation.

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

A documentary about the restoration of Saint George's altar in Spišská Sobota.

Poetic reportage from the Grand Prix of Slovakia in yachting on the lakes in Senec.

Short documentary film on carnivorous plants.

A short cartoon promoting the collection of bones and showing what can be made from them.

An agitprop piece lampooning a perceived blemish on contemporary society — short notices in shop windows offering a pithy explanation of why the shop is closed.

1984 Czech experimental short by Petr Skala

1980 Czech experimental short by Petr Skala

1980 Czech experimental short by Petr Skala

1980 Czech experimental short by Petr Skala

“Skala’s films combine the principles of informel painting and abstract expressionism applied to the media of film. His approach was based on the manual method, on the application of artistic techniques to a scroll of raw or already exposed film – engraving, scratching, painting or drawing on it, burning holes in it or using specific chemical procedures.”