Czech films in official selection

Czech-Irish-Polish-Slovak co-production feature Charlatan, directed by world-famous author Agnieszka Holland (Mr. Jones, Spoor, Burning Bush, In Darkness, Europa Europa), will celebrate its world premiere at Berlinale 2020 in Berlinale Special Gala, which is curated by Carlo Chartrian, the former artistic director of the Locarno IFF.

Holland returns to Berlin with her brand-new biographical drama about a Czechoslovak healer who was persecuted from both Nazi and Communist regimes. Charlatan is produced by Šárka Cimbalová, Kevan van Thompson / Marlene Film Productions (CZ), and co-produced by Film and Music Entertainment (IE), Madants (PL), Furia Film (SK), Czech Television (CZ), Barrandov Studio (CZ), Radio and Television Slovakia (SK), CertiCon (CZ) and Magiclab (CZ). Czeh Film Fund supported the film with EUR 522 745.

Czech films have a rich tradition of participation in Berlinale’s Forum. Over the past decade, 7 Czech films or co-productions were part of this traditional section. This year, FREM will celebrate its international premiere as a part of Forum’s line-up.

The documentary by Viera Čákanyová is a reaction to the current wave of post-humanist thinking caused by the development of technology and artificial intelligence as well as the climate crisis, and it is produced by Nina Numankadic from Hypermarket Film (CZ) and co-produced by Punkchart films (SK) and Czech Television (CZ). Czech Film Fund supported the film with EUR 70 385.

Distant Journey, Alfréd Radok’s debut from 1948, has been selected as one of this year’s Berlinale Classics. The film is a comparison of the different visions that shaped the horrific reality of the Hol­ocaust, and it was digitally restored in 2019 under the supervision of the National Film Archive.

A strong position of Czech animation is confirmed by Leaf which was selected for the Generation Kplus section. A short film by Russian born Czech student (Univerzita Tomáše Bati ve Zlíně) Aliona Baranova tells a touching story of a huge sailor, who gets an autumn leaf from a small girl. It reminds him of his home.

For the third time, director Ivan Ostrochovský (Koza, Velvet Terrorists) is heading to Berlinale. His Slovak-Romanian-Czech-Irish co-production feature Servants is a black and white drama focused on two students of a theological seminary in totalitarian Czechoslovakia.

The film was produced by the director himself, Albert Malinovský and Katarína Tomková from Punkchart films (SK), co-produced by Point Film (RO), Radio and Television Slovakia (SK), Negativ (CZ), Film and Music Entertainment (IE), Libra Film Productions (RO), Hai Hui Entertainment (RO) and sentimentalfilm (SK), and it has been selected for newly formed section Encounters. Czech Film Fund supported the film with EUR 153 846.

Czechs also participated in other 2 films which will premiere at Berlinale 2020. Czech television co-worked on Oleg Sentsov's Ukrainian-Polish-French dystopian drama Numbers (Berlinale Special). Last year, German-Austrian TV series Freud (Berlinale Series) was almost entirely shot in the Czech Republic thanks to the production company Mia Film.

Czech films and co-productions at European Film Market

Czech cinema will be also represented at European Film Market. Several Czech features or co-productions released during the last months and brand-new features will be screened at the market.

Charlatan
by Agnieszka Holland
Czech Republic, Ireland, Poland, Slovak Republic 2020
SAT 02/22 | 16:00 | CinemaxX 4 (private buyers only)
MON 02/24 | 09:00 | CinemaxX 4 (private buyers only)

Servants
by Ivan Ostrochovský
Slovak Republic, Romania, Czech Republic, Ireland 2020
THU 02/20 | 17:00 | CinemaxX 10
SUN 02/23 | 13:35 | CinemaxX 10

Fritzi - A Revolutionary Tale
by Ralf Kukula, Mathias Bruhn
Germany, Luxembourg, Belgium, Czech Republic 2019
FRI 02/28 | 09:45 | Cubix 2

Scumbag
by Mariana Čengel Solčanská, Rudolf Biermann
Slovak Republic, Czech Republic 2020
TUE 02/25 | 12:40 | CinemaxX 16

Let There Be Light
by Marko Škop
Slovak Republic, Czech Republic 2019
FRI 02/21 | 16:15 | CinemaxX 2

Cook F**k Kill
by Mira Fornay
Czech Republic, Slovak Republic 2019
SAT 02/22 | 12:50 | CinemaxX 11

Mucha: The Story of an Artist Who Created a Style
by Roman Vávra
Czech Republic, Germany, France 2020
TUE 02/25 | 09:15 | CinemaxX 17

The Sleepers
by Ivan Zachariáš
Czech Republic 2019
WED 02/26 | 10:00 | Zoo Palast Club A