Under the title of Czech Short Films Vol. 1 it will present 12 short films created by students of Czech film schools (namely FAMU, the Film Academy of Miroslav Ondříček, The Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design and the Zlín Film School). It is the first edition of the DVD, which should continue in the years to come. The main goal is to draw attention to Czech short films, promote them abroad and to initiate closer cooperation with film schools and up-and-coming filmmakers.
"I have been considering releasing a DVD of short films for several years now. I would like to both raise the awareness of our short films abroad and also create closer ties for cooperation with beginning filmmakers. After all, the success in past years confirms that for us the road to the festival in Cannes, for example, starts right here," Markéta Šantrochová from ČFC stated.
The films were selected by a jury comprised of film columnist Vojtěch Rynda, the programme director of the Fresh Film Fest Jakub Felcman, Petr Horák from the I Shorts association, which regularly holds commentated evenings of short films, and Markéta Šantrochová from the Czech Film Center.
"Contributing to this representative anthology of student films was (is) truly a unique experience. I couldn't get away from asking myself the logical question, by what should such a "representative anthology of Czech student work" actually be characterised (or is characterised)? I was pleased to discover that my colleagues had quite a different point of view in selecting the films and I think the resulting list of films is beneficially diverse and includes an exhaustive range of classroom trends," Jakub Felcman said.
Vojtěch Rynda added: "Thanks to being able to contribute to this selection I was astounded twice: not only by how many films have been made here in the Czech Republic as part of school productions, but also by how many of them are really fantastic. It was tough to find a representative sample, but I think that we have managed to choose the best from the various schools and genres. And if I had any doubt whether Czech film was able to compete against its European counterparts, now I know that every country here on the grand old continent has a strong competitor."
There were more than 150 student films to choose from and apart from the films the DVD also contains information on 10 Czech film schools and their study programmes and also on festivals that choose short films for their competitions. Thanks to the supplementary information the DVD also serves as a presentation of Czech film schools.
The DVD will first be presented at the film festival and market aimed at short films in Clermont-Ferrand, where the Czech Film Center will be representing Czech cinematography for the first time.
Czech Short Films Vol. 1 contains:
Expensive Father /Jan Těšitel / CZ 2009 / feature / 26´
Blackjack isn't a difficult game so everyone thinks they can play it. My father was a great example. He thought luck would come his way but he lost everything instead. And I need that money. I wanna be something he never was. I can't think of anything else but humiliating him. He had fifteen years to change. There's no other way.
Toaster / Michaela Prokopová / CZ 2009 / animation / 5´
The author's film about an ingenious invention that causes considerable problems for its users. Hence viruses are everywhere! The animation style is 2D flash drawing.
59/184/84 / Lukáš Kokeš / CZ 2009 / documentary / 24´
The cinematic personal ad of a perpetually miserable man who, with a fixed idea that something has to happen, is still waiting for the moment his life starts and who maintains his austere, lonely life with the faith that fate will finally fulfil his ideal vision of a woman, derived from a biological right to love.
The End of June, the Beginning of July / Václav Hrzina / CZ 2009 / feature / 34´
The story of a young woman Lenka and an older man Pavel. Lenka places no great demands on her life and accepts it with humility. Circumstances just might cause Lenka's feelings and thoughts to be directed somewhere else entirely.
Nocturno / Marek Berger / CZ 2009 / animation / 7´
The night-time adventures of one sprayer who gets into a conflict with the law because of his creations. A fantastic metaphor of defiance against authority and artistic freedom's conflict with order and suppression.
CTRL EMOTION / Vojtěch Kotek / CZ 2009 / hraný / 23´
CTRL EMOTION is a story about young people who long for love and are trying to find the courage to decide. Will they find each other or will love elude them by an instant?
A Tear Is Needed / Kristina Dufková / CZ 2009 / animation / 19´
By coincidence a little girl Miroslava falls asleep on a grave. When she wakes up, she finds out she has appeared in the world of the dead. How will she get back to her parents and the world of the living? Even if the story deals with the world of death this film written by a Mexican writer and made by a Czech animator is very cute and everything will turn out okay in the end.
Saharan Sands / Josef Tuka / CZ 2009 / feature / 19´
Vaclav and Anna have been married for 25 years. They decide to celebrate their anniversary at the place they first met. What is going to happen during this celebration?
The Kingdom of Cutlery / Eva Skurská / CZ 2009 / animation / 6´
The Kingdom of Cutlery is a table set for dinner. A fork, a knife and a spoon lived in perfect harmony here until the fork on the opposite side of the plate started to feel left out...
The resulting petty conflict means that, instead of dinner, a self-destructive war begins.
100 Days / Viera Čakányová / CZ 2009 / documentary / 22´
This biographical story does not have a precise form. It's like a painting where the first glance can be directed anywhere. The important thing is how the "big picture" is eventually revealed. Life goes on; people work and have children, out of love or out of a lack of any other motivation in their lives. If there is no God, the only certainty is the 24-hour Tesco hypermarket. 40 years ago Apollo 11 landed on the surface of the Moon. The next destination is Mars. No human project can go on without a hope of being completed within a reasonable time-limit. The maximum reasonable time-limit is the duration of a human life. What all fits into it? Béla, a retired Hungarian bio-molecular scientist is waiting for death. In the meantime he has some things to say.
Basic Language / Lukáš Glaser / CZ 2009 / experimental animation / 7´
A meditation about the world as a never-ending deal of realities, which differ in the scale of surprise and banality. Part one - ground
Anonym / Tomasz Mielnik / CZ 2009 / feature / 25´
Loving somebody means trying to find unknown landscapes hidden inside them. That why it is so easy to fall in love with a woman who is absolutely a wrong match for you.
For further information contact Markéta Šantrochová, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.,
mobile phone: +420 724 329 948
