This documentary study of the mechanisms that turn the gears of the tabloids is conducted by the unique figure Pavel Novotný. This editor-in-chief of one of the most widely read Czech media outlets of the time, providing news from the world of show business and human misfortune, gets straight to the point. Readership is a fetish, an absolute alibi for all invasions of privacy and every transgression of good ethics. Seen up close, the whole cluster of disreputable reports looks like a staged tableau. Before the eager eyes of an anxious public, celebrities willingly or unwillingly perform acts that the scrutiny of the all-powerful tabloid workers attributes racy significance to.
A stark documentary about young male prostitutes in Prague, aged 15 to 18, who work the streets, train stations, and clubs. Through candid interviews and behind-the-scenes footage of gay porn shoots, the film explores their lives, struggles, and dreams, touching on themes of exploitation, identity, AIDS, and survival.
This episode from the Czech Journal series examines how a military spirit is slowly returning to our society. Attempts to renew military training or compulsory military service and in general to prepare the nation for the next big war go hand in hand with society’s fear of the Russians, the Muslims, or whatever other “enemies”. This observational flight over the machine gun nest of Czech militarism becomes a grotesque, unsettling military parade. It can be considered not only to be a message about how easily people allow themselves to be manipulated into a state of paranoia by the media, but also a warning against the possibility that extremism will become a part of the regular school curriculum.
How incomprehensible would a higher intelligence find the plodding human species and the way it treats the Earth? And do Czechs differ in the way they care for nature?
Interviews with a procurer and with nineteen boys and young men who are prostitutes in Prague. The youths range in age from 14 to 19. They hustle at the central train station and at clubs. Most of their clients are foreign tourists, many are German. The youths talk about why they hustle, their first trick, prices, dangers, what they know about AIDS, their fears (disease and loneliness), and how they imagine their futures. The film's title, its liturgical score, much of it elegiac, and shots of the city's statues of angels underline the vulnerability and callow lack of sophistication of the young men.
A visual essay about the 5 classic Giallo films by Italian director Sergio Martino.
Documentary about Mario Bava's film "The Girl Who Knew Too Much" and its impact on the Giallo genre.
Five Rings Films presents the inspiring story of how Czech Republic won gold at the first Olympics to feature professionals from the NHL.
A documentary about the Czech national team's victory at the 2001 Ice Hockey World Championships.
Czech hockey is back on top! The national team won the World Championship in a way that's never been seen before. Six key players and head coach Vladimír Růžička look back on the decisive moments and behind-the-scenes events of the tournament, the 2005 Ice Hockey World Championship in Vienna and Innsbruck.
A documentary about the fantastic run of the Czech national ice hockey team at the 2010 World Championships in Germany, featuring highlights from individual matches and interviews with the protagonists of this hockey miracle, which easily surpasses even the best fairy tales.
The charismatic cats are generally quite shy, but very curious about the world around them. With the help of local rangers and 15 cameras set up in the Bohemian forest, we are able to track the lynxes and observe their every move – such as a hunt during night, or even the intimate hours during mating season. For the lynx, the environment around them is used to their advantage, like the long grass to sneak on prey, or even using the trees to sharpen their claws. With an arsenal of skills at their disposal, the lynx is an exceptional hunter. Come with us as we see these skills in action!
Documentary showing the Czechoslovakian political landscape in March 1968, when president Antonin Novotny, a hardline Stalinist, stepped down and moderate communist Ludvik Svoboda was elected. Five months later, in August 68, the Prague Spring would end with the military intervention of the Warsaw Pact.
A personal and political biography of the Octopus, or the Prague National Library project, but also a biography of the last years of the life of the author of this design, Jan Kaplický, who wrote in his diary in 1998: to win the competition and have one love. With this entry, read by Eliška Kaplicky at the beginning of the film, it is as if the world-class Czech architect wrote not only the "script" for the final decade of his life, but also for a film that follows the dramatic social story of creative imagination and the intimate relationship between a man and a woman.
From Washington to Saigon, Rome to Mexico, Paris to Prague, a wave of protests shook the world. 68 looks back at the looks back at the Vietnam War, the Prague Spring and the Soviet Invasion, the Paris riots, Dubcek, Che Guevara, De Gaulle, Cohn-Bendrik and more. A dive into the chaos of a turbulent year, featuring fantastic colour footage and the music of Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrisson and Bob Dylan.
An interview with actress Florinda Bolkan about her performances in the films "Don't Torture a Duckling" and "Lizard in a Woman's Skin".
An interview with Nicoletta Elmi about her days as a child actress.
Documentary filmmaker Jan Sikl came across several hours of footage showing the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia in private film archives. 53 years later, historical memory awakens from a long slumber with this reconstruction of the occupation, a cinematic adventure of a truly archeological nature.
The Sykora family are only four people out of millions of Venezuelans that have recently escaped their collapsing country. They land in the Czech Republic, the country where Grandpa Jan was born, but also a place utterly strange to them. In a matter of months their savings have almost gone and job seeking becomes a nightmare. Again, the dream of just having a normal life starts to vanish. Will the family manage not to crumble along the way?
Czechoslovakia: Portrait of a Tragedy