Trojanovi, a controversial document and a non-actor with Down syndrome have a chance at the Czech Lion

Aiming for Victory

Ninety-four works and a difficult choice of academics who have been looking for the right candidates for victory since the beginning of December, today reached its peak - the nominations for the Czech Lion are out there and it certainly wasn't easy. The vote was from 38 feature films, 15 pre-selected documentary films and 15 animated or puppet films. To this was added 14 registered series and mini-series and 12 pre-selected short films. The announcement of the nominations at the briefing was revealed by a pair of actors who won the Czech Lion last year – the charming actress Simona Lewandowska and her colleague Stanislav Majer. Thanks to them, we already know who can think about winning in one of twenty-four statutory categories.

Record holders among the nominees

The film Franz, about the writer Franz Kafka, directed by the Polish director Agnieszka Holland, received the most nominations - a total of 15. With 13 nominations, the film Choir Master, inspired by a case of sexual abuse that erupted around the Bambini di Praga choir, is hot on its heels. Then with just two fewer nominations is the film Caravan. It earned a nomination for the best actor in a leading role for David Vodstrčil, a non-actor with Down syndrome, whose brilliant performance was positively rated by international critics.

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Show property

Multiple nominations are common, for example in the case of Ivan Trojan, who is vying for the prize for best actor in a supporting role for the film Franz and the Invincible, with his son Josef Trojan being his competition in Franz. Actress Aňa Geislerová is competing for the best actress award in a leading role for the film Caravan and is also nominated for the best actress in a leading role in a TV series for the series Ratolesti.

TV series usually also have multiple nominations. After five of them, the family drama Well received, four for the King of Šumava: Agent Walker, two each for Moloch, Octopus and Ratolesti. Apart from the familiar faces from these films, the nomination for the best actress in a supporting role in a TV series episode for Tatiana Dykova for the successful Limits series was also impressive, where the actress shone with foam fillings in the role of eccentric Alena, which was written for her directly.

Documentary boom

According to the director of the Czech Film and TV Academy, Tereza Malá Rychnovská, this time the documentary film significantly asserted itself. Among the selected films was The Great Patriotic Outing by director Robin Kvapil - a controversial document about the situation in Ukraine through the perspective of three doubters about war developments - whose December screening for schools sparked heated reactions. It was the largest school screening in our history, four thousand students speak for itself, and it was attended by the president of the republic Petr Pavel.

"Critical thinking is not a theoretical discipline, but a skill you demonstrate precisely at the moments when you are exposed to the direct confrontation with facts and emotions that war brings,"

stated the creators in a press release and thanked everyone who does not want to be intimidated by opponents of the younger generation's critical thinking.

This year's news

As for how it all turns out, we have to wait until March 14, when the winners will be announced at a ceremonial ceremony at the Prague Congress Center. This is incidentally one of this year's news of the Czech Lion. "We are grateful for the years spent in Rudolfinum, however, the Congress Center opens a whole range of new possibilities for the ceremonial evening, from the size of the stage and greater capacity of the auditorium to technical facilities," explains the president of ČFTA Ivo Mathé for iDnes.cz. The evening will be hosted by a new face, stand-up comedian Bianca Cristovao, the sister of the singer Ben Cristovao.

Source: author's text, ČT24, www.idnes.cz