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Czech Them Out – the successful tour of Czech films in Denmark finished

A selection of eight successful feature and documentary films of the past decade was presented in three biggest Danish cities (Copenhagen, Aarhus and Odense) on 4 February – 3 March 2010.

The series entitled CZECH THEM OUT was arranged by the Embassy of the Czech Republic in Copenhagen, Czech Film Center and the Danish Film Institute - Cinemateket in cooperation with Czech Airlines and cinemas Café biografen in Odense and Øst for Paradis in Århus.

Czech actress Anna Geislerová opened the festival with the drama Želary Photo: Hasse Ferrold
Czech actress Anna Geislerová opened the festival with the drama Želary Photo: Hasse Ferrold

The Czech film series was presented in the Danish Film Institute - Cinemateket in Copenhagen during the first half of February (4 – 21 February 2010). The Oscar-nominated drama Želary (2003) by Ondřej Trojan was selected for the opening film. The film series was introduced by the program director of Cinemateket, Jesper Andersen, the consul Barbora Stejskalová and the main guest of the evening, the Czech actress Anna Geislerová. The Embassy of the Czech Republic invited to a reception after the screening.

Actress Anna Geislerová with Czech students and expatriots
Actress Anna Geislerová with Czech students and expatriots

Special event with a screening of The Karamazovs and the presence of the director Petr Zelenka took place on Sunday 7 February 2010. A fully packed screening hall listened to the introduction and a debate on the Czech film industry by director Petr Zelenka, Ambassador Zdeněk Lyčka and the program director Jesper Andersen.

Director Petr Zelenka (on the left) and the program director of the Cinemateket Jesper Andersen introduced the film The Karamazovs
Director Petr Zelenka (on the left) and the program director of the Cinemateket Jesper Andersen introduced the film The Karamazovs

Both events were a big success as the guests filled up the large screening hall of the Cinemateket. Journalists (Danmarks Radio, Copenhagen Post), representatives of distribution companies and independent filmmakers, diplomats, members of the Czech and Polish community in Denmark and other film connoisseurs attended the screenings.

The guests filled up the large screening hall of the Cinemateket
The guests filled up the large screening hall of the Cinemateket

The drama Želary also opened the Czech film festival at Café biografen in Odense on 18 February 2010. Around 30 guests attended the opening, including the Deputy Mayor for Cultural Affairs, Mr. Jan Boye, representatives of the University of Southern Denmark and Czech expatriots. On the opening day an article was released in the daily Fyens Stiftstidende (full text of the article).

On 25 February 2010, the Czech film festival was opened at Øst for Paradis in the second largest Danish city of Århus by a documentary Czech Dream. Ambassador Zdeněk Lyčka gave an introductory speech and described the current situation of the Czech film industry. Czech Dream was introduced by the Czech film enthusiast Peter Ole Pedersen from Århus University. Approximately 50 guests attended the opening, including representatives from Århus City Hall, Czech Honorary Consul Niels Brøchner together with other consuls form the region, students from Århus University, Czech expatriots and other participants. The guests had the opportunity to taste Czech beer and wine.

Cinema Øst for Paradis in Århus
Cinema Øst for Paradis in Århus

The visitor statistics provided by the three cinemas showed that the movies Želary, The Karamazovs and Empties achieved the highest attendance. According to Cinemateket´s program director Jesper Andersen, the Czech film series in Copenhagen achieved higher attendance rate than usual average and was also higher in comparison with similar international film series.

Film checklist:
Return of the Idiot by S. Gedeon, 1999
Želary
by O. Trojan, 2003
Czech Dream
by V. Klusák and F. Remunda, 2004
Empties
by J. Svěrák, 2007
The Karamazovs
by P. Zelenka, 2008
Who´s Afraid of the Wolf
by M. Procházková, 2008
Citizen Havel
by P. Koutecký and M. Janek, 2008
René
by H. Třeštíková, 2008