Film sections 2019

Each year, the section dedicated to the Asian continent strives to provide some kind of report about the current state of the local cinema and to introduce works of major Asian directors as well as award-winning films by new filmmakers to Czech audiences. The selection both reflects the well-liked action and historical films which popularised cinema from many Asian countries in Europe and attempts to introduce films from smaller and less prominent countries. This year's pick is marked by a reflective spirit. Each in their distinctive style, the filmmakers focus on the past, present, and future of their respective countries, be it China, the Korean Peninsula, or Thailand.

One of Febiofest's characteristic sections focuses on a region that blendstypical absurd humour and inane behaviour, drunk music and dance, but also some kind of loneliness and isolation of the individual places and towns, and of people, or, more precisely, characters. And each one looks for luck in their own way. Some only within their apartment and others abroad, beit a vision of a better life in the USA or at the North Pole. However, it is obvious that the films included in this section still show vivid memories of the events of the conflict that has left wounds yet unhealed in the landscape and influenced whole generations.

Central Park is the meeting place for families with kids, dog owners, joggers, couples in love, and merry groups of students and tourists. It is a place open to people of all professions, ages, and interests. Similarly, this section offers primarily entertaining and epic films, films full of strong emotions and heroic deeds. Big dramas, incredible yet true stories, but also crazy comedies and wild shooting action. This selection, full of renowned personalities both in front of and behind the camera, includes not only numerous distribution pre-premieres but also many films that were successful at festivals abroad but won't be available in our cinemas outside the festival.

The six films featured in this year's special section represent the latest Czech co-production films. Cooperation between the Czech Republic and Slovakia is the most frequent and also most natural type, and it brought to life two of the selected films. By a Sharp Knife (Ostrým nožom) is included in our New Europe competition section, and Punk Never Ends!, another distinctive debut, is introduced as Czech premiere. However, our producers also collaborate with other culturally and historically affiliated countries such as Poland, Russia, and Romania, helping unique and quality films to come into existence. Our pick is completed by an Israeli omnibus of short films that, similarly to all the other films in the section, shows that just like our problems are not limited locally, our film industry is also not closed to the outside world.

The new festival section was created thanks to the audience response to screenings of old, newly restored and digitalized films during the festival's previous editions. The demand for such an experience offered by a quality projection on a big screen and in the company of others is growing, and not only at the festival. All the films included in the Classics section are notoriously well-known but difficult to see during regular cinema operation. Some of the films from our pick celebrate an anniversary, others are available in a newly digitalized and restored form for the very first time. Daisies and The Exorcist are accompanied by two documentaries in the Docs section –about the cinematographer Jaroslav Kučera (Jaroslav Kučera -A Portrait), and director William Friedkin (Friedkin Uncut).

For the fifth time festival-goers can relish Culinary Cinema, an extraordinary dining and film experience in which screenings are combined with top class dinners. Projections at CineStar Praha – Anděl are followed by dinner served at the Delight restaurant in the adjacent Vienna House Andel’s Prague hotel, meaning that in one evening visitors can enjoy a carefully selected film and savour a menu inspired by the picture in question prepared by top chefs. The section presents Constructing Albert, a documentary about a Spanish master chef, Tazzeka, a drama infused with the aromas and tastes of Moroccan cuisine, and La Grande Bouffe, a digitally restored cult classic.

The only section of this year's Febiofest that focuses exclusively on documentary films. The documentaries bring new and interesting insightson the world of animals and humans, art and sport, from behind-the-scenes of films, musical stages, and war trenches. This section and its individual films will offer you such experiences as becoming a Tour de France fan and cheering alongside the track. Or becoming a detective and figuring out what connects identical triplets, and what divides the participants ina social experiment who decided to go on a boat trip together. William Friedkin's portrait will definitely enchant all the fans of this legendary American director, and the portrait of cinematographer Jaroslav Kučera (When the Cat Comes, Diamonds of the Night...) will be appreciated not only by Czech audiences. Because everybody can choose their true heroes in this section.

This section dedicated to children and families expanded last year and now also includes films for teenagers. Thanks to this, you will find animated fairy-tales for the youngest viewers alongside adventurous and entertaining stories for the whole family, set in the idyllic French countryside or an imaginary animated Japanese landscape, and also current dramas intended for high-school students and teenagers. Some of this year's topics are bullying at school as well as online, first love, and finding one's place in the world today. For easier orientation, each film is marked by the appropriate age group.

American cinema –it's more than just blockbusters, shallow profit-driven entertainment, it's not only red carpets filled with stars and VFX effects in each take. American cinema also means dozens of smaller, interesting independent productions that show extraordinary creative potential. Made in USA is a section dedicated to exactly those American independent filmmakers who focus on auteur expression, unique direction, and the distinctive view of their dramatic or comedic protagonists and their fictional worlds. Maybe symptomatically, this year's selection includes predominantly female characters.

This section focuses on the latest work by distinctive auteur personalities of today's cinema. Most of the films included in Masters premiered at festivals in Cannes, Locarno, Venice, San Sebastian or Toronto, and the names of the filmmakers appear in the programme of our festival and of Czech cinemas regularly. This year, we can also find lighter comedies and biographical dramas. The connecting element of all the films is creative confidence and time-tested quality. Masters offers the crème de la crèmeof European as well as worldwide auteur cinema of the last year, and it is up to the viewers to judge how productive the year was.

Febiofest's traditional yet unique competition section of feature films introduces first films by new directors on the European continent. This collection presents intellectually and formally ambitious and daring works. Films that provoke, reflect, and offer auteur views on the society we live in, the relationships we have, and dramatic events that have already happened. Some of the directors find inspiration for their reflections in the dark corners of thriller genres, others prefer comedy, social drama, or documentary approaches. But there's no doubt that each and every of the selected filmmakers –although they are only at the start of their career –offers a unique and valuable film work. Some have already been discovered and awarded at other festivals, others are still waiting for their first laurels.

There are some animals that don't go to sleep at night, they wake up atdusk and head out looking for some entertainment. And Febiofest has a tempting pick of films for them as well. A bloody zombie-horror musical, a post-apocalyptic drama, crazy travels through time and space, the action art of broken arms and eyes poked out, but also incorrect and bizarre humour. There are no limits to the genres, styles, and diagnoses. You'll laugh and you'll shiver with fear, maybe feeling rather embarrassed about both. The only certainty is that the selection of these movies will always provoke excitement and emotional tension in the night viewers, keeping them wide awake in their cinema seats.

The North is on fire, and this year’s cinematic output from the five Nordic countries is right here to portray it. 10 films full of strong and intimate stories about love and survival, family dynamics, young adults, outsiders, art and therefugee crises. What makes it a special year for Nordic cinema is the rich array of film genres in play –such as Danish and Norwegian disaster movies, a Swedish sci-fi and a reverse refugee story, an Icelandic survival thriller, period dramas and biopicsabout the world-renowned writer Astrid Lindgren and the Bob Dylan of Finland! The films are however not your standard genre movies, they artistically play on our expectations and tease our taste buds. Made by both established directors and promising new talents who present courageous debut features with refreshing themes and storytelling.

While CentralPark offers films that are agreeable to all audiences, Panorama is its counterbalance and sometimes requires a more courageous viewer. Yet the intense overview of cinema from all over the world will enchant the viewers all the more. The dramaturgy of this selection focuses on films that were presented, awarded, or sparked discussion at major film festivals worldwide. Films that premiered in Locarno, Toronto, San Sebastian, in Cannes, Rotterdam, or Tokyo. Panorama consistently follows trends and visions of predominantly auteur directors whose work provesdemonstrable, formally daring and modern skills, maturity of opinions and unquestionable talent.

The Danish director and scriptwriter entered the cinema world as a cinematographer and contributed to the visual side of many films. His directing debut came in 1978 with live-action film Honning måne(Honeymoon). He captured the attention of audiences as well as critics ten years later with the film adaptation of Pelle the Conqueror, which earned him an Oscar for the Best Foreign Language Film and a Palme d'Or at the IFF Cannes. In 1992, won his second Palme d'Or for The Best Intentions, based on a screenplay by Ingmar Bergman. He brought many famous literary stories to the screen, including for example Night Train to Lisbon, Smilla's Feeling for Snow, The House of the Spirits, and Les Misérables, the adaptation of which was partly made in the Barrandov Studios in Prague. Bille August is considered one of the most distinguished directors of his generation.

Jiřina Bohdalová is one of the leading lights of Czech cinema, dubbed the first lady of Czech film. Her mother was active in amateur theatre and Jiřina started appearing on screen and on stage from an early age. In 1957, she successfully graduated with a Josefina performance, which earned her an offer by Jan Werich, and she accepted a job in the ABC Theatre. However, it was Divadlo na Vinohradech that became her home. Jiřina Bohdalová has played countless characters in comedy and drama films and fairy-tales. She won Czech Lion film awards for her leading roles in fairy-tale The Immortal Aunt and drama Fany. She also found her place on the TV screen in numerous films, TV shows, and especially as a comedy talent on the Televarieté show.

As the offspring of director Phillip Garrel and actress Brigitte Sy, Louis Garrel appeared first in front of the camera as a child –in his father's film Les baisers de secours(1989). After graduating from the Conservatoire de Paris, he started appearing on screen regularly. He played for example in Bertoluc-ci's The Dreamers(2003) and his father's Regular Lovers(2005) –a role which earned him a César. He gradually turned to film directing as well. He made three short films, and later remade the last of them, La règle de trois(2011), into his feature debut, Two Friends(2015). His characteristic focus on feelings and relationships is apparent also in his second feature film, A Faithful Man(2018). Garrel in the leading male role must choose between two women: Eva (Lily-Rose Depp) and Marianne, por-trayed by his actual wife, Laetitia Casta.

Peter Fonda byl již od dětství veden k herectví, které také vystudoval. Začínal ve stejném divadelním souboru jako dříve jeho otec nebo Marlon Brando. Po svém angažmá v několika hrách na Broadwayi se však rozhodl prosadit ve filmovém Hollywoodu. Peter Fonda byl dvakrát nominovaný na Oscara. Poprvé za svůj nejznámější snímek, legendární road movie Bezstarostná jízda, na které se podílel jako scenárista, spolurežisér a producent. Podruhé za drama Uleeovo zlato. Za něj také získal v roce 1998 Zlatý glóbus a stejný úspěch si zopakoval o dva roky později za vedlejší roli v životopisném filmu Posedlost Ayn Randové. Peter Fonda patří do slavné rodiny amerických hereckých legend. Jeho otcem je Henry Fonda, sestrou Jane a v herecké tradici pokračuje i Peterova dcera Brigit Fonda

Queer Now offers Czech premieres of a representative selection of ten films that reflect the prestige and variety of world queer cinema today. Established auteur personalities with their new films, led by Christoph Honoré's latest film Sorry Angelthat waspresented in Cannes, meet talented debuting directors who offer unique film visions and represent such regions as South Africa, Paraguay, and Romania, The star-cast American films, already endowed withprestigious nominations, are based on true stories –Can You Ever Forgive Me?, and Boy Erased. The painfully current issue of the Trump administration’s steps against transgender people is discussed in Transmilitary.

TV NOW Television production has become one of the film industry's most progressive sectors in recent years. Finding one's bearingin TV show production is not only a current trend, but almost a necessity among film buffs and critics. The mode of TV show narrative, the style and form of consumption are changing incredibly quickly and watching television has become not only a leisure activity, but also a professional discipline. These works therefore deserve increasingly frequent attention on the big screen thanks to their formal and content qualities. Febiofest's new section,TV Now, is starting its first year with a focus on diverse local production. It features the pre-premiere of a new sitcom web series by Mall.TV internet TV, the visually captivating sequel to Detektivové od Nejsvětější trojice (Detectives from the Holy Trinity), and a TV film from the Jak si nepokazit život (How Not to Ruin Your Life) cycle by Czech Television.