20-08-2026

Jan Svěrák’s Five Plums to Be Released in the UK

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    What a Way to Go by Jan Svěrák What a Way to Go by Jan Svěrák credit: Bioscop
    PRAGUE: Oscar-winning director Jan Svěrák’s hit Czech comedy Five Plums / Pět švestek is heading to UK cinemas this autumn under the title What a Way to Go. Distributed by Picturehouse, it becomes only the fourth Czech film in 30 years to secure a wide British release.
    The film follows five elderly friends sailing around the Greek islands on a rented yacht for one final adventure, a comedy Svěrák describes as "two rebellious old women and three old men setting out to sea without adult supervision."
    ,br. For the first time, Svěrák worked alongside his two sons, sound engineer Ondřej and cinematographer František, rather than his father, Zdeněk Svěrák.

    A domestic box-office success across all generations, the film is currently shortlisted as a potential Czech candidate for the Academy Awards, earning high praise from Maggie Gyllenhaal and Peter Sarsgaard, who offered to help promote it in North America.