Saturday 14. 9. 2024
Saturday’s theme focuses on Roma filmmakers. The Industry section of the program will be dedicated to them, and all films screened on Saturday will be by Roma creators.
LECTURE
The Image of Roma in Czech Cinema after 1990
Industry program
We have already passed the point where the best Roma in film could only be Labuda or Polívka, but one Godla doesn't make a spring. How many Czech feature films about Roma actually exist, and what do they tell us? How often does racism manifest, both from bad and good intentions, or from a lack of thought? From Naked Sales to Smrady, Roming, Bastards, and Most! with detours to Cesta ven (The Way Out) or Zpráva o putování studentů Petra Jakuba (Report on the Journey of Students of Petr Jakub). The white savior syndrome, comical tokens, relics of the past regime, and Lakatoš from Obecná škola (The Elementary School), who will be a Slav "next time."
Lecturer
Kamil Fila – Film critic and theorist
foto: MFF Karlovy Vary
10:00
CASE STUDY
The Image of Romani Culture in Czech and Slovak Films Created by Roma
Industry program
Meet the emerging generation of Roma filmmakers from the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Four study cases, four creators, three documentary and one feature film project. A wide range of approaches and topics through which Roma filmmakers reflect — not only Roma — society and contemporary cinema.
Director Vera Lacková will be introduced by Alica Sigmund Heráková. The discussion will focus on her third documentary project titled Čaruj (Spell). The plot of the documentary is a search for a real witch who might help lift an ancient curse.
Slovak director and visual artist
Denis Kozerawski will present a cross-section of his work, which includes projects utilizing film, animation, and serious games to engage with societal consciousness.
Documentary filmmaker Viola Tokárová will present her freshly completed documentary about boys living in Srebrenica, the site of the massacre that occurred in 1995 during the Bosnian War.
Screenwriter Robert Poupátko and producer Jiří Sádek will present the feature horror film Mulo, currently in development. The project has received support from the Czech Film Fund and draws on Roma mythology.
11:00
PANEL DISCUSSION
Institutional Support for Roma Filmmakers in the Czech Republic
Industry program
How can Czech film institutions respond to the growing interest of Roma filmmakers? And how can filmmakers themselves engage with these institutions? A discussion featuring representatives of the major players in the Czech film market, with an opportunity to initiate dialogue at the structural level.
Guests:
Kamila Zlatušková – Director of the Television Institute and Serial Killer Festival
Marta Švecová – Chairwoman of the Czech Film Fund Council
Jiří Sádek – producer and director
Moderator: Alica Sigmund Heráková
1:30 p.m.
SCREENING
Chavo
Directed by: Alecio Araci
Sweden, 2023, Drama, 15 minutes
Tommy is a Roma man whose view of the world shattered after his son’s suicide. A year later, a young man named Antonio appears in Tommy’s restaurant and stays until closing time. A bond begins to form between the grieving father and the young outcast, with the sense that they have more in common than Tommy initially realized.
This short film is created by Roma queer director Alecio Araci and won the Best Short Film award at the Ake Dikhea? Film Festival in Berlin 2023.
15:00
SCREENING
Cambium 1492
Directed by: Peter Kašpar
and Denis Kozerawski
Cinematography and Editing:
Denis Kozerawski
Slovakia, 2022, Documentary, 24 minutes
Rapper Čavalenky tells the story of an oak forest. A tale of trees whose roots reach back to a time before the Anthropocene, and whose wood helped humanity achieve some of its most significant historical breakthroughs. Trees whose value we still perceive only through the lens of the market, as they only have worth when felled, cut, and sold.
One of the three winners of the Best Experimental Documentary Film award at the 26th Ji.Hlava International Documentary Film Festival 2022.
16:00
SCREENING
Genesis
Directed by: Árpád Bogdán
Hungary, 2018, Drama, 120 minutes
The three stories in Genesis explore the biblical concept of family: a woman on the brink of forty rediscovers the faith she lost in her childhood; a mother goes to unbearable lengths to ensure her daughter is spared from the fate she herself had to endure; a Roma boy’s family is killed, and his perfect childhood world is shattered.
Before Árpád Bogdán made several short films and his feature film debut Happy Life, he studied social care, Romani language, and pedagogy at the University of Pécs. Alongside that, he was successful in his original field as a theater actor and director.
The film premiered at the 2018 Berlinale International Film Festival and won the award for Best Music at the 2019 Hungarian Motion Picture Awards.
17:00
SCREENING + INTRODUCTORY TALK
+ DISCUSSION
The Kid
Directed by: Charlie Chaplin
USA, 1921, Comedy, Drama, Family, 50 minutes
In 1921, Charlie Chaplin released his first feature-length film — the heartfelt comedy The Kid. Not only did the film’s tender blend of humor and drama introduce audiences to a whole new cinematic concept, but it was also met with great acclaim.
The story of the Tramp who finds an abandoned child by the garbage turned Chaplin into a legend known around the world.. What many may not know, however, is that Chaplin was also a proud Roma.
The screening will be introduced by film critic and theorist Kamil Fila. After the film, there will be a 30-minute discussion with Roma filmmakers about the legacy of this legendary comedian and how his identity influences them as contemporary creators.
Guests:
Robert Poupátko
Alica Sigmund Heráková
Moderator: Kamil Fila
19:30
SCREENING + INTRODUCTORY TALK
+ DISCUSSION
The Wolfman
Directed by: Joe Johnston
USA, 2010, Horror, 119 minutes
Introductory talk and post-screening discussion
Robert Poupátko
Lawrence Talbot, a famous actor and also a Roma, returns to his family estate after the mysterious death of his brother. The estate is now inhabited only by his white father. But the area is being terrorized by a beast — a werewolf that carries a shocking connection to the Talbot bloodline.
Roma characters in Hollywood are often cast as villains serving dark forces. Director Joe Johnston, however, chose a different path, weaving Romani identity directly into the DNA of the story.
The Wolfman is a remake of the 1941 classic of the same name — a film that helped launch many stereotypes about Roma. A third version of the story, by the creators of The Invisible Man, is expected next year.
Despite not featuring Romani actors or creators, the 2010 version arguably offers the most unique portrayal of the Roma community ever seen in Hollywood — a rare, semi-forgotten cinematic gem.
23:00
