Vernes

Three separate stories – a mother, her teenage daughter, and a police officer – converge thanks to one event: the titular incident, wherein a dog is injured.

Daniel is a young man. Daniel is a student and a writer. Also Daniel is a pedophile. He is in love and makes no secret of his sexual orientation; even not in front of the parents of his beloved boy. Daniel has never hurt any child. What is the way of the most intimate of feelings in Daniel's and his friends' heart? The film introduces the rises and falls of people living with pedophilia. It portrays Daniel and the Czech community of pedophiles. It narrates a story of forbidden love and a constant struggle to come to terms with oneself and the society.

The film is based on real events – in 2005 Viktor Kalivoda murdered 3 random strollers he chanced upon in the forests in Czechia. The case received much attention for its lack of motive. After his arrest, Kalivoda confessed, but did not reveal his motive. The film will closely observe one year in his life leading up to the murders and his arrest.

In her most recent film, Linda Kallistová Jablonská observes three girls growing up in a residential facility in Počátky, Czech Republic, over the course of ten years. She explores their dreams about liberty, the reality they must face as well as their ideas about their own future families. The sequel to her first longitudinal documentary about Adéla, Denisa and Pavla captures the rocky road to independence after leaving the facility, their reconciliation with the past, job search, new relationships, small joys and big disappointments. Not only does the director draw an empathic portrait of three young girls with no-one to rely on but themselves; she also explores the ways in which public institutions form young people’s attitudes to life.

Gifted Carmelite novice Constance must make a choice: to pursue her vocation and obey, or to defy the lost hopes of all the other Sisters regarding her dying Superior.

So close, yet so far. Although a bit exaggerated, this can be said about Poles and Czechs – neighbours and related nations. This powerful film builds on the contradictions of two worlds: Czech atheists vs. the exotic reality of a Catholic country. There is no shortage of amusing scenes. The filmmakers address passers-by, nuns, employees of the anti-Semitic Radio Maryja, a priest accused of sexual harassment, and an exorcist. Karel not only becomes an explorer who seeks to find the truth about Polish faith, but at another level also a pilgrim who, through the “path to film” wants to find faith himself. Last but not least, the documentary asks what has happened to Poland in recent years? Why is it as internally divided as Czechia?