06/03/2023 - This year’s national film awards underlined two significant trends: the rise of the young generation in the domestic industry and the undying popularity of biopics

The year 2022 was successful for Czech cinema in terms of both quantity and quality. A host of domestic titles travelled to prestigious international events and reaped awards there. The majority of those titles were helmed by the young generation of filmmakers who are gaining a foothold in the domestic audiovisual industry. While the national Czech Lion Awards on 4 March did not necessarily reflect the breadth of Czech cinema, they did underline two significant trends: the young generation having more than just a foot in the door of the domestic industry, and the undying popularity of biopics.

Even before the shortlist was announced, it was clear that Il Boemo [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Petr Vaclav
film profile], the period biopic about forgotten composer Josef Mysliveček, directed by Petr Václav, would play a prominent role, as the Czech Film and Television Academy chose the movie as the national submission for the Oscars race. A month ago, the Czech Film Critics’ Awards foreshadowed the possible outcome of the national film prizes, honouring Arvéd, a period biopic. The drama about a Czech occultist and Nazi collaborator received the Awards for Best Film, Best Screenplay and Best Actor. And so curiously enough, two similar films (even though each was made on a different scale, with the art production of Il Boemo reflecting the 18th-century Italian luxury and opulence in which the protagonist rose to prominence, while Arvéd is mostly a claustrophobic chamber drama) became the frontrunners of the 30th edition of the Czech Lions.

Il Boemo won six awards, including Best Film and Best Director, along with gongs for Best Set Design, Costumes, and Make-up and Hairstyling. The film’s producer, Jan Macola, thanked writer-director Václav for spending 12 years working on the project before expressing gratitude to collaborators in the Czech Republic, Italy and Slovakia who worked on the project, serving in multiple roles, from co-producers to the art department. Rounding off his speech, Macola thanked Josef Mysliveček himself, “who was born 300 metres from here and showed us all that it is worth following your dreams”.

Arvéd, the dark horse at the Czech Film Critics’ Awards, took home three awards, for Best Screenplay, Music and Actor. Jan Poláček, who shared the Best Screenplay Award with the director of Arvéd, Vojtěch Mašek, also pointed out the nearby location where a memorable scene involving the invocation of a demon originally took place. Arvéd led the nominations for the 30th edition of the Czech Lions, with nods in 12 categories, while Il Boemo had been nominated in 11 categories. In the top five of the most-nominated domestic films was a drug-fuelled nocturnal ride shot on an iPhone, BANGER. [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Adam Sedlák
film profile] (with eight nominations); the magical-realist drama Nightsiren [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Tereza Nvotová
film profile] (seven nominations) by Slovak director Tereza Nvotová; and Jan Prušinovský’s comical road movie Grand Prix (four nods – see the news). Nightsiren and Grand Prix left the ceremony empty-handed, while BANGER. took home the gongs for Best Supporting Actor and Best Editing. Young documentary filmmaker Adéla Komrzý made off with her second statuette for Best Documentary, for Art Talent Show [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Adéla Komrzý and Tomás Bojar
film profile], which she co-directed with Tomáš Bojar, after last year’s win for Intensive Life Unit [+see also:
trailer
film profile].

This year’s Czech Lions emphasised the generational shift in the domestic industry. nutprodukce producer Pavla Janoušková Kubečková, who picked up the Award for Best Television Film or Miniseries for Suspicion [+see also:
trailer
interview: Štěpán Hulík
series profile], directed by Slovak helmer Michal Blaško, thanked her colleagues and highlighted the rise of female producers in the national industry in her speech. “I hope this generation will take control in the industry,” she noted, prompting a round of applause.

Here is a complete list of this year’s Czech Lion winners:

Best Film
Il Boemo [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Petr Vaclav
film profile] – Petr Václav (Czech Republic/Italy/Slovakia)

Best Documentary
Art Talent Show [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Adéla Komrzý and Tomás Bojar
film profile] – Adéla Komrzý, Tomáš Bojar

Best Director
Petr Václav – Il Boemo

Best Actress
Klára Melíšková - Suspicion [+see also:
trailer
interview: Štěpán Hulík
series profile]

Best Actor
Michal Kern – Arvéd (Czech Republic/Slovakia)

Best Supporting Actress
Martha Issová - Buko

Best Supporting Actor
Marsell Bendig - BANGER. [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Adam Sedlák
film profile]

Best Screenplay
Jan Poláček, Vojtěch Mašek - Arvéd

Best Cinematography
Jan Baset Střítežský – The Last Race

Best Editing
Šimon Hájek, Jakub Jelínek - BANGER.

Best Sound
Daniel Němec, Francesco Liotard - Il Boemo

Best Music
Ondřej Mikula (Aid Kid), Jonatan Pjoni Pastirčák - Arvéd

Best Set Design
Irena Hradecká, Luca Servino - Il Boemo

Best Costume Design
Andrea Cavalletto - Il Boemo

Best Make-up and Hairstyling
Andrea McDonald - Il Boemo

Best Television Film or Miniseries
Suspicion – Michal Blaško

Best Television Drama Series
Nineties – Peter Bebjak

Best Animated Film
Suze in the Garden – Lucie Sunková

Best Short Film
Rituals – Damián Vondrášek

Extraordinary Audiovisual Achievement
Milada Kučerová and Eduard Kučera, Alice Šikošová and Petr Šikoš, Petrana Slámová and Pavel Sláma

Honorary Award for Extraordinary Contribution to Czech Cinema
Marcela Pittermannová, Jan Jíra

Non-statutory awards

Magnesia Award for Best Student Film
Vinland – Martin Kuba

Best Film Poster
Arvéd – Vojtěch Mašek, Soňa Juríková

Film Fans’ Award
Nineties – Peter Bebjak