Kuli Film

Amidst today’s urban jungle of concrete, glass and metal, it is easy to forget that we actually live in the territory formerly dominated by wildlife. Many of its members have been exterminated by humans, while others have fled the sprawling urbanization to the surrounding countryside. It is their survival strategies that get revealed in exciting detail in the documentary series, Planet Czechia. For two years, a team of camera operators headed by Jan Hošek were recording a life cycle of Prague’s wild animal world across all seasons of the year. The film, accompanied by the commentary read by the actor Jiří Macháček, registers everyday struggles of the fat dormouse, the mouflon, blackbirds or the water hen, teaching the viewers in a casual manner a higher degree of tolerance toward the city’s overlooked inhabitants.

Zdena, a young nurse, starts her first night shift at an old people’s home and immediately faces a difficult task: she has to deal with the body of a deceased client. A gentle portrait of faltering youth and a realistic tale of an encounter with death in a blend of physically intense moments and absurd humour.

The story of Johann Gregor Mendel briefly and entertainingly encompasses his entire life from childhood to the autumn of life: all the pitfalls and peripeties fate has prepared for him, his father's death, monastic service, and above all the basic discovery of the laws of heredity he made while crossing pea lines. When his contribution was misunderstood by his contemporaries, Mendel turned to a number of other natural sciences.

The COVID-19 pandemic, the gradual alienation from fellow human beings and the growing fear of his own death make the author go on a research trip to see if there is an opportunity to prolong his life scientifically. This is the starting point of an existential yet hysterical journey to uncover the business of eternal life in the world of today. While meeting characters who range from crazy futurologists to crafty “death” businessmen, the director realises that his role as an investigator becomes a personal obsession.