16/01/2015 - The nominations for the 22nd edition of the Czech Lions have been unveiled

A short time after the Czech Film Critics’ Awards nominations were made public, the Czech Film and Television Academy has disclosed its point of view on domestic cinema during 2014, by nominating titles from a batch of 32 feature films and 23 feature documentaries distributed throughout the year. The academy members have demonstrated that their opinions differ slightly from those of the critics, which goes to show that the introduction of critics’ awards has truly served its purpose as an alternative to the more firmly established Czech Lions. In stark contrast to the critics’ nominations, the Czech Lion hopefuls are dominated by Andrea Sedláčková’s sports drama Fair Play [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], which has been nominated in all categories (the acclaimed Burning Bush [+see also:
trailer
film profile] was nominated in 14 categories last year), including the parallel Best Film Poster category, which the movie has already won. This is hardly surprising, given that the Czech academy members picked Fair Play as the country’s official Oscar submission. In addition, Sedláčková has also been active in the Documentary category, in which her Life According to Václav Havel is also nominated.

The debut by seasoned theatre director and actor Miroslav Krobot, the bleak comedy-drama Nowhere in Moravia [+see also:
trailer
film profile], is nominated in 13 categories, including Best Film, Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography and Best Director. The number-one movie in the critics’ nominations, The Way Out [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Petr Václav
film profile], appears in ten categories, as does Jan Svěrák’s musical fairy tale, Three Brothers. The Slovakian nostalgic coming-of-age film set in communist Czechoslovakia, Hostage [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], directed by Juraj Nvota and co-produced by the Czech Republic, is in the running for Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Editing and Best Scenography.

Karel Roden is a hopeful for Best Supporting Actor as the unforgettable gay undertaker in the underrated dark comedy Krásno [+see also:
trailer
film profile], which could also land Best Music and Best Make-up. The genre-blending Storyteller, about a con artist living a double life, did not make it onto the film critics’ list, whereas the academy members gave it a chance in the Best Supporting Actor, Best Cinematography and Best Sound categories. Lastly, the outstanding performance by Ondřej Nosálek as a gay hairdresser who saves a damsel in distress (Jana Plodková) in Slobodanka Radun’s feature debut, US 2, may earn him the Best Actor Award.

The awards ceremony will take place on 21 February in Prague’s Rudolfinum.

Here is the full list of nominees:

Best Film
The Way Out – Miloš Lochman, Jan Macola, Karel Chvojka
Nowhere in Moravia – Ondřej Zima
Fair Play – Kateřina Černá, Pavel Strnad
To See the Sea [+see also:
film review
film profile] – Miloslav Šmídmajer
Three Brothers – Jan Svěrák

Best Documentary
Into the Clouds We Gaze – Martin Dušek
The Magic Voice of a Rebel – Olga Sommerová
Olga – Miroslav Janek
The Century of Miroslav Zikmund – Petr Horký
Life According to Václav Havel – Andrea Sedláčková

Best Director
The Way Out – Petr Václav
Nowhere in Moravia – Miroslav Krobot
Fair Play – Andrea Sedláčková
To See the Sea – Jiří Mádl
Three Brothers – Jan Svěrák

Best Actress
Angels – Klára Melíšková
The Way Out – Klaudia Dudová
Nowhere in Moravia – Tatiana Vilhelmová
Fair Play – Judit Bárdos
Tender Waves [+see also:
trailer
film profile] – Tatiana Pauhofová

Best Actor
Angels – Boleslav Polívka
Nowhere in Moravia – Ivan Trojan
Fair Play – Roman Luknár
Hostage – Milan Lasica
US 2 – Ondřej Nosálek

Best Supporting Actress
Angels – Zuzana Bydžovská
The Way Out – Mária Ferencová-Zajacová
Nowhere in Moravia – Lenka Krobotová
Fair Play – Anna Geislerová
Fair Play – Eva Josefíková

Best Supporting Actor
Nowhere in Moravia – Jaroslav Plesl
Fair Play – Igor Bareš
Hostage [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] – Ondřej Vetchý
Krásno – Karel Roden
Storyteller – Matěj Hádek

Best Screenplay
The Way Out – Petr Václav
Nowhere in Moravia – Lubomír Smékal, Miroslav Krobot
Fair Play – Andrea Sedláčková
To See the Sea – Jiří Mádl
Three Brothers – Zdeněk Svěrák

Best Cinematography
The Way Out – Štěpán Kučera
Nowhere in Moravia – Jan Baset Střítežský
Fair Play – Jan Baset Střítežský
Storyteller – Martin Štrba
Three Brothers – Vladimír Smutný

Best Editing
The Way Out – Florent Mangeot
Nowhere in Moravia – Jan Daňhel
Fair Play – Jakub Hejna
Hostage [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] – Alois Fišárek
Three Brothers – Alois Fišárek

Best Sound
The Way Out – Daniel Němec, Ivan Horák
Nowhere in Moravia – Viktor Ekrt, Marek Hart
Fair Play – Daniel Němec
Storyteller – Radim Hladík
Three Brothers – Jakub Čech, Claus Lynge

Best Music
Angels – Michal Novinski
Fair Play – David Solař, Miro Žbirka
Krásno – Jan P Muchow
Storyteller – Roman Holý
Three Brothers – Jaroslav Uhlíř, Michal Novinski

Best Scenography
The Way Out – Jan Pfeiffer
Nowhere in Moravia – Jan Vlček
Fair Play – Petr Fořt, Viera Dandová
Hostage [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] – Pavol Andraško
Three Brothers – Jan Vlasák

Best Costumes
The Way Out – Tereza Kučerová
Nowhere in Moravia – Katarína Hollá
Fair Play – Simona Rybáková
Hany [+see also:
trailer
interview: Michal Samir
film profile] – Zuzana Krejzková
Three Brothers – Simona Rybáková

Best Make-up
Nowhere in Moravia – Lukáš Král
Fair Play – Anett Weber, Katarína Horská
Krásno – Lucie Lišková
Tender Waves – Jiřina Pahlerová
Three Brothers – Zdeněk Klika

Best Film Poster – parallel award
Byeway – Ex Lovers
Fair Play – Tomáš Machek, Marius Corradini (the winner)
Intimity – Roman Werner
Olga – Ondřej Matyáš
In Silence – Helena Jiskrová