Czech & Slovak film festival

To mark the 10th anniversary, the 6-day event is held in Dendy Newtown and will run over 2 weekends from Friday March 24 to Sunday April 2nd.

There will be a diverse mix of recent films with many of them shown to the Australian public for the first time. The program is packed with great features including, dramas, thrillers, romances, comedies, documentaries and the popular, often quirky shorts and animations that have become part and parcel of the festival.

Some hot features:

The biopic IL BOEMO shot primarily in Italy, kicks off this year's film line-up. The period drama explores the life of Josef Mysliveček, a Czech immigrant in Italy who became the most prolific opera composer of the 18th century – inspiring Mozart and becoming his friend.

The most expensive Czech film in history, the Czech ‘Braveheart’ blockbuster MEDIEVAL stars internationally celebrated actors such as Ben Foster, Michael Caine, and Til Schweiger. It focuses on the early life of the famous 15th Century Czech Hussite warlord Jan Žižka, known for his innovative tactics, charisma, and courage.

The black and white award-winning drama THE BALLAD OF PIARGY … a film with 30+ awards and counting, is a love story of unclear guilt, love, and cruel punishment. In spring 1939 the village of Piargy is buried by an avalanche, where a few days ago, the Antichrist was born. The bishop asks a priest to investigate the only survivor of the catastrophe - Johanka - and find out what happened. Did Antichrist return to the world or is it just Johanka’s imagination?

The feature-length animated story MY SUNNY MAAD by Oscar nominated and internationally acclaimed Czech animator Michaela Pavlátová brings gentle humour and well observed everyday details from the family life of a Czech woman who has no idea of the life that awaits her in post-Taliban Afghanistan, or the family she is about to join.

Together with the new releases, the remastered satire THE CASE OF BARNABAS KOS is a must-see for all lovers of the golden era of the Czechoslovak wave of the 1960. A comedy about the weakness of the human soul and the vanity of men who achieve power. Peter Solan’s stylish, well shot film is a satirical yet scathing view of society gone mad with bureaucracy. 

The new documentary THE GOOD OLD CZECHS is the Ulyssean story of two Czechoslovak airmen out of thousands fighting across war torn Europe. It follows their experiences across the whole of Europe, the euphoria of their return at the end of the war, and their betrayal and persecution once the communists took power in 1948.

The Closing Night feature BORDERS OF LOVE probes the intimacy of a couple who, through video confessions, explore the limits of honesty in an open relationship.