Discoveries from Czechoslovakia World Cinema

A short animated film.

Travelers Hansel and Zikmund sail from Africa to South America. On their journey to film, they capture clouds of locusts on the plains of Argentina's Chaco, a snake farm in Butantane, skyscrapers in Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro, a visit to lepers in Paraguay, waterfalls in Iguazu, a daring expedition to the jungles of the Marañon river basin to hunt skull hunters. an Indian settlement in Panama and the journey ends prematurely in Mexico amidst the ruins of ancient Indian temples and pyramid.

This is one of three 15 minute cat films made by Bretislav Pojar in 1960-61. It features mime artist Ladislav Fialka as the painter Honza. He gets into all sorts of trouble when he has to look after two little kittens. It's a mixture of live action and animation. The other two films in the trilogy are Cat’s Promise Cat School Narrator Rudolf Deyl also provided the voice for the first series for Pojar’s Pojdte Pane films in the mid 60s.

Eight tunnellers, led by Mikulás Litvák, go down with the lift for a new shift in the underground, close to the Máj department store. Each day they build a new meter on the B1 line of the Metro. In 14 years of work they have made 7 km of corridors and tunnels. The work is hard and sometimes dangerous. But they are a tight group, which trust each other's skilfulness.

Documentary by Jan Kadar

Promotion of free blood donation.

A movie built up of three stories about life in a small Slovak town. The Prosecutor: the district attorney is a jazz orchestra soloist at the same time and that is much disliked by the local provincial society. The Defender: is about a young doctor's relation to his patient, who is open about his reactionary opinions. The Judge: it is only after long years that the old judge realizes that his own marriage is in jeopardy.

Twenty-one years (1968 - 1989) in the life of violinist Jan, whose life and social situation forced him to make compromises and personal concessions.

A scientist observes the sky through a telescope. He is discontent because the Moon has a delay. The scientist thus uses his telescope as a canon and shoots to alert the Moon in a house in the sky that something went wrong. The upset Moon charges his wife to find out what the correct time of moonrise was. And because it has indeed overslept and is behind the times, it rushes into the sky to rectify his mistake. On the way, he mightily puffs from his pipe, which provokes St Peter's disapproval - for the saint would not tolerate so much black smoke in the sky. He therefore strikes the Moon with lightning and the Moon, falling, loses his pipe. St Peter then recommends him to smoke cigarettes made with Abadie paper tubes.

It is the spring of 1945 and the end of the Third Reich is approaching. Yet all reserves are being deployed to save the Nazi regime. Even the students of one gymnasium are sent to build fortified defensive lines. But the conscious young men plan to escape and join the partisans. But the fighting draws inexorably closer and will test everyone involved...

A lyrical story of a father and son, which shows the extent to which an authoritative approach to parenting can be accepted.

In Transcarpathia, Prince Laborets wields a divine ring that ensures his land’s peace and prosperity. Ambitious Hungarian Zoltan seizes the ring after defeating Laborets, unleashing centuries of oppression. Generations later, Prince Fedir Koryatovych leads a revolt to reclaim freedom and restore the ring’s legacy.

Sliding, skiing, snow forts, snowball fights, in short, winter is the right season for the children from the village under the Šibeničák hill to have fun. Their leader has always been Zrzek, the son of the local undertaker. But then Myšák, whose father had become the chairman of the agricultural cooperative, moved into the village, and he pulled all the boys to his side, especially because he could take the boys on the horses his father sometimes lent him. Proud Zrzek left the group rather than submit to Myshak. Only his friend Barbora remained faithful to him, helping him catch birds, especially the proverbial black raven.

A puppet comedy about a sleeper disturbed by an unwearying rooster.

A lyrical fairy tale of romantic mood tells of a girl who freed the Wind Young Man from the curse that punished him for his arrogance and violence. The fairy tale highlights the ennobling impulse and power of love, which can positively influence all human actions.

Television adaptation of F. Kárinthyho's story about how important it is to have a sense of home. The apricot jam symbolizes the home, family well-being, which the little boy Ferko, living with his parents in a Hungarian town of the 30's of the 20th century, desperately hopes for. A mother with an unfulfilled desire to become a famous pianist and a father with an even more distant dream to be a world-famous and wealthy writer to a son have no time or even a loving word. His loving companion is only Manci, who, however, leaves for misunderstanding with his lords. Ferko remains alone, disappointed and reluctant to accept the friendship of a new maid of Rózy. But he also has his great dream, and Róza will help him meet him.

The film shows the process of restoration of a Slovak Gothic wood-carving artwork of The Last Supper from Spisska Sobota, made by Master Paul of Levoca.

A barrel organ grinder meets the devil on a mysterious moonlit night in this haunted-house fable, which showcases Trnka’s atmospheric use of sound to conjure a macabre mood.

A railway fairy tale about how the devil fell in love with Bětuška and the machines... The young devil Fadrius is supposed to pass the diploma exam at the hellish university by gaining a soul on the ground of hell according to the questionnaire he received. So he sets off for his destination - the village of Dražice in Bohemia. He tries to get the soul of the old woman Kolejačka and the track master Doubek. But he falls in love with his daughter Bětuška. But Doubek does not want to give her to him...

The only employee of a small press office, secretary Jiřina Zvoníčková, decides to help her good-natured and unlucky boss Brok. In order to get an interview with the unapproachable "fashion king" Pavel Toman, she disguises herself as a young man and works as a messenger in Toman's company. This way, she manages to get not only the interview but also other interesting information about Toman. However, one day, Toman meets her in her girlish form in a café...

Majka "Chatterbox" is a girl entering adolescence. She was born with a minor disability. While her mother keeps scolding her for the way she walks, her classmates mock her and call her a "duck". Along an innocent first love affair and a secret friendship, she receives little understanding from her parents and lots of malice from her schoolmates. Majka finds refuge with her grandmother and in her own fantasy world.

The idea of mystery unites the three debut stories - the original Bermuda Triangle with its mysterious phenomena has begun to shift and can be traced anywhere in the world, including Czech and Slovak territory. Here, too, unexplained shifts in space and time occur. This idea is supported by the aforementioned short stories, but the inventiveness of the subject matter and staging is very heavy-handed, and the film passed through the cinemas without much interest.

Want to get to a space planet full of songs? Use the attractions of the magical TV carousel from 1978, which will take you up to the stars. You will hear, among others, Sleep, Son, I Have a Wish, Little Sprig, What a Pretty Cheek You Have, Lullaby of the White Elephant, March of the Cosmonauts, Mill Wheel, A Dozen Horses, Magic Grandfather, Tram Grandma, Dandelion and Let's Go Play.