*****************A Message from Embassy of the Czech Republic *****************

Due to the growing concern of the spread of COVID-19 at large gatherings, we are canceling the Czech That Film Festival. Thank you so much for your interest in this event. We plan to reschedule the festival at a later date.

Warmest regards,

Public Diplomacy Department
Embassy of the Czech Republic
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About the event:
The Embassy of the Czech Republic has collaborated with the Avalon Theatre to bring the festival to the Washington community. The festival launches on April 1 with the drama On the Roof (Na Střeše), which garnered seven Czech Lion nominations, the country’s top honors, in such categories as best film, screenplay, and director. The film reveals a moving story of friendship in an unlikely pair. On the following day, April 2, the Avalon Theater will screen the psychological thriller The Cage (Klec), a story about a young man deceiving an elderly woman, but the captive remains in question. The film is followed by Old-Timers (Staříci) about two former political prisoners seeking revenge for injustices done to them during the 1950s, based on true events.

Now in its ninth year, the Czech That Film Festival highlights new Czech films, bringing directors and actors to the US scene for lively discussions.    

Jiří Mádl is a Czech director, screenwriter and actor. He received notoriety starring in such films as Night Owls (Děti noci, 2008), Four Suns (Čtyři slunce, 2012), and Colette (2013). In 2014, he made his directorial debut with the film To See the Sea (Pojedeme k moři). Mádl is the youngest actor to win a Crystal Globe for best actor in a leading role at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (2008). On the Roof is his second film as a director.                          

A special component of the festival is a reception in the Avalon’s historic main theater, serving Czech cuisine provided by the Czech Embassy’s chef. The menu will include beef goulash with bread, apple strudel, and a glass of wine, Czech beer, or soft drink. Attendees can either book the double feature or evening screening with reception to enjoy the culinary delights on April 2               
               
For tickets, please visit www.theavalon.org/czechthatfilm | All films will screen with English subtitles.     
Location: Avalon Theater, 5612 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20015               

The Czech That Film Festival brings the best of Czech filmmaking to nearly 20 major cities in North America. For more information, please visit www.czechthatfilm.com.                              

FILM PROGRAM:      
Opening Night! - Wednesday, April 1, 8 pm              
ON THE ROOF | NA STŘEŠE
Directed by Jiří Mádl, 2019, 100 min.
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OvIfz267BIs             

“Jiří Mádl tells a universally comprehensible story about the simple fact that we all need somebody.” ~Jan Škoda, Karlovy Vary International Film Festival

Q&A with director Jiří Mádl

Retired teacher Mr. Rypar (Alois Švehlík) discovers a 20-year-old Vietnamese man named Song (Duy Anh Tran) on the roof of his Prague apartment building. The man is on the brink of jumping after he narrowly escapes a police raid on an illegal drug trade. Rypar does not know if he should trust Song but decides to offer him a job of cleaning his apartment. Rypar helps Song to improve his Czech and gives him advice on love, while Song offers him some friendly competition at chess, insight into the digital age and present-day perspective. They come from polarizing worlds, but they just might be what the other needs. Through the film, actor-turned-director Jiří Mádl presents an unassuming story of a friendship developing against all odds.

On the Roof received seven nominations for the prestigious Czech Lion award in such categories as Best Film, Best Screenplay, Best Director, and Best Actor in a Leading Role (Alois Švehlík), among others. The film was also nominated for the Audience Award at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. Director Jiří Mádl received the Grand Newcomer Award at the Mannheim-Heidelberg International Film Festival for the film.  
 

Thursday, April 2, 5:15 pm
THE CAGE | KLEC
Directed by Jiří Strach, 2019, 87 min.     
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0MH-H3ppNs                      
               
“Jiřina Bohdalová and Kryštof Hádek star in this unpredictable psychological thriller as two people who end up imprisoned in a ground-floor flat.” ~Jan Škoda, Karlovy Vary International Film Festival

Eighty-year-old, widowed-pensioner Květa Galová (Jiřina Bohdalová) lives alone in a first floor flat. She learns that her parish priest will be transferred to another church to her great disappointment. Just when it seems no one needs her anymore, she meets a mysterious young man (Kryštof Hádek) who claims to be her distant relative. She soon realizes her mistake after welcoming him into her home. Trapped in her own apartment, can she outwit this stranger before it is too late, or will she remain his captive in a cage?        

The film screened at the renowned Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, among others.  
 

Thursday, April 2, 8 pm
OLD-TIMERS | STAŘÍCI
Directed by Martin Dušek and Ondřej Provazník, 2019, 85 min.
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDPL3OOGEvY       

“Old-Timers is a realistic depiction of what an assassination by two seniors would look like.” ~Martin Kudláč, ScreenAnarchy           

Vlasta (Jiří Schmitzer) and Tonda (Ladislav Mrkvička) have one goal in mind: to find and kill the communist prosecutor who sent them to prison in the 1950s. Inspired by actual events, the two former political prisoners head out on the road to accomplish their mission, brandishing two guns, driving a van reminiscent of their own age, and developing their plan for revenge. The octogenarians, one with an ailing heart and the other confined to a wheelchair, though, are not one’s everyday assassins. Dashed with a bit of humor, their real aches and pains can be felt as they journey to set the wrongs done to them right. With little time left to live, justice is the endgame.

Old-Timers is based on a true story from the late 1990s of two men’s plot to kill communist prosecutor Karel Vaš, who four decades earlier had secured prison terms for them and the death sentence for several of their friends.              

The film won 2019 Czech Film Critics’ Awards for Best Film, Best Actor (Jiří Schmitzer), and Best Director. The film garnered ten Czech Lion nominations in such categories as Best Film, Best Screenplay, and Best Director, including nominations for the two starring actors.