04/09/2024 - VENICE 2024: The emerging Czech director discusses the interplay between personal inspiration and fictional storytelling, and his approach to blending genres

(© G Zucchiatti/La Biennale di Venezia/Foto ASAC)

Emerging Czech director Vojtěch Strakatý has presented his feature-length debut, After Party [+see also:
film review
interview: Vojtěch Strakatý
film profile], in the Orizzonti Extra section of the Venice Film Festival. Strakatý previously directed the coming-of-age short film Stuck, and his screenplay for After Party was awarded The Star of Tomorrow in the 2018 Czech Film Foundation competition for unrealised scripts. Strakatý discusses the interplay between personal inspiration and fictional storytelling, the challenges of confining a narrative to a single day, his approach to blending genres and his commitment to crafting strong female characters.

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Cineuropa: After Party is grounded in personal experiences but is not a straightforward autobiography. How did you strike the balance between personal inspiration and fictional storytelling?
Vojtěch Strakatý: At one point in my life, amidst the chaos of the aftermath of a tragedy my family was going through, I came to the conclusion that it had also been very “cinematic” in a way, and since I wanted to make films, I had to find a way to adapt this specific personal experience because I believe that is how you can achieve authenticity. But real life is oftentimes too complicated and crazy compared to what you can manage to squeeze into a film and still stay believable. So right away, I wanted to create a unique fictional story, characters and world that would draw only some elements from reality, as that seemed much more interesting to me. And that also freed me up so I wouldn’t overtly cling to too many details and logistics of the “true events”.         

Your film blends various genres, from thriller to coming-of-age drama. How did you manage to balance these different genre elements?
From the start, I knew I wanted to blend genres, as that's what captivates me in cinema when done well – it adds unpredictability and thrill. The family drama of my protagonist was always central, but I was most interested in following my heroine as she navigates her suddenly complicated life. There's drama, but also mundane reality – why not reflect that in the film? I believe we all strive to live our best lives despite whatever tragedies are happening to us, and that is my filmmaking approach in general and one of the reasons for the genre-blending – we live the drama but want to avoid it at all costs. Balancing suspense with down-to-earth elements was essential, combining the simplicity and tension of westerns with the lighter vibe of coming-of-age buddy movies.

After Party unfolds over a single day, which adds a sense of urgency and intensity to the story. What influenced your decision to condense the narrative into a 24-hour period?
Real-life problems often unfold slowly, but some days, everything happens at once. I structured the story around one such day, capturing my protagonist's life in a brief moment. The film unfolds between two mornings, starting and ending in the same place, creating a temporal and spatial spiral. This shorter timeframe allowed me to tell the story almost in real time, immersing the audience in the protagonist's journey. The process brought challenges, especially in terms of logistics and continuity, but these pushed me to be more creative and efficient.

You often focus on female protagonists in your films. What drives this choice?
About ten years ago, when I shot my short Stuck, I began focusing on female protagonists. I was inspired by the women around me and felt characters like them weren’t adequately represented on screen. As a filmmaker, I aim to create films I’d love to watch, and suddenly, I found myself developing stories centred on women. Now, as I am finishing my second feature and developing several more projects, they all feature predominantly female leads.

For me, storytelling isn’t about gender, sexuality or race; it’s about people. While these aspects influence the nuances of a story, the core is about human experience. Characters and their stories should be approached with an open mind and respect, allowing them to exist and shine in the world you create.

With your The Other Side of Summer already finished, how does this new project differ from After Party?
There are many similarities in my approach to the story structure and characters. This time, the film unfolds over several days, allowing for more flexibility than my debut. While there are fewer side characters, it's a group adventure that shifts between the perspectives of the main characters, all of whom are girls, continuing my focus on female-driven stories. Once again, I’m blending genres – this time, it’s a mix of coming-of-age and mystery, exploring unfulfilled summertime hopes, longings for escape and a magical way of travelling between places.

Although I usually dislike coming-of-age films, I’ve now made two of them, trying to perfect the genre while avoiding what I dislike about it. We’ve incorporated more music, even composed tracks, and the genre elements are more pronounced, with mystery and adventure taking over as the film progresses. This is something I’m keen to explore further in my upcoming projects – next up are No Salvation Coming, a heist film about the housing crisis, and Hatch in Hell, a winter body horror set in the mountains.