Czech Girl

You're sixteen. You're still figuring out your sexuality, your relationships and your values. And you make mistakes. Matty is an introverted boy who, despite his indecisive and hesitant nature, has managed to come out, thanks to a family and friends who support him. But when he falls in love with Radek, a boy his own age, during the entrance exams for an art high school, he runs headfirst into the reality of first emotional confusion, missteps and failures. Acting in good faith, he makes a few mistakes that quickly snowball into bigger ones. Within a few weeks his childishly naive world turns cruelly adult, and he suddenly has to face unexpected problems and the incomprehension of those around him. Will he manage to find a fragile inner balance in the storm of a complicated adolescence?

Anna and Lizzie share a flat with George - a tax consultant who thinks he is a dog. George supports them and does all he can to keep them satisfied. He agrees to their strict rules: at home, he may only walk on all fours, isn’t allowed to speak, must lick their feet and obey every order. The girls begin abusing their power, because George lets them. They believe he enjoys the torture, so they keep on degrading him. But in the end, George’s soul revolts – the man within him awakes, and seeks freedom and cruel revenge.

Our hero is 25-year-old Štěpán – a nice enough guy but a bit of a waster who doesn’t have a clue what to do with himself. At the call centre where he works, he is jolted out of his lethargy when he takes a call from the mysterious and seemingly level-headed Marie. This playful flick revolves around young protagonists full of insecurities who are struggling to break out of the crushing stereotypical mould. And although Štěpán might not know exactly which path to take in life, the mere decision to put one foot in front of the other indicates a certain degree of progress. In its chosen stylisation the film opts for bizarre condensation and, in places, ventures into absurd poetics; even so, it reveals great understanding for its characters’ faltering moves.

Three young actresses go to the Karlovy Vary Film Festival together. The successful Adéla will present her new film. The burnt-out Ema goes to support Adéla. And carefree Soňa just wants to enjoy movies and parties. But the days at the festival don't go as expected and the three women's friendships and careers are put to the test. Can they still manage to outwardly act like they're happy and at ease? Šimon Holý's comedy shows the harsh truths about the film industry and the acting profession. It describes authenticity as a goal that is hard to achieve.

After years together, Petr and Hana, partners in work and in life, share their unspoken erotic fantasies. What begins as an innocent conversation gradually turns into curious experimentation with a non-monogamous approach to their relationship. But sexual freedom tastes differently for each of them.

Supposedly, all it takes is 36 questions and you’ll fall in love with anyone. Marie (Alena Doláková), a dancer who has just turned thirty, and her boyfriend František decide to check out this scientific theory for themselves. Yet can we rely on our love for other people if we don’t even know ourselves? A supremely contemporary view of 30-something individuals trying to navigate the way ahead.

Mischievously self-assured Mára and somewhat eccentric Heduš set out into the frozen wastes in search of adventure – by car, naturally. After all, Mára’s turning fifteen soon. A road movie about the flies that occasionally buzz around even in winter, and a story that tells of the elusive bond of boyhood friendship and the irrepressible desire to experience something, even if you don't exactly know what.

What do you do when love simply isn’t on the cards and keeps passing you by? 60-year-old Kristýna has lost her last ray of hope, so she goes off with her daughter Sára to talk to a fortune-teller about her sorry lot in life. One year on from Mirrors in the Dark, Šimon Holý brings us another wholly independent film about life’s traumas as seen from a female perspective, this time with a liberal dose of esoterica on top.

A young director follows an aging professor in search of recipes for the life of the body and soul. But what will a Serbian nationalist and close friend of Ratko Mladic advise a girl with a family in Bosnia? A dialogue about transcending one's own prejudices and ideologies in an attempt to find reconciliation.