11/03/2024 - The ambitious sci-fi flick Restore Point also triumphed at the Czech Film and Television Academy’s annual ceremony, while actress Simona Peková won a gong for her turn in She Came at Night

The Czech Film and Television Academy (CFTA) celebrated the domestic cinematic and televisual achievements of 2023 at the 31st Czech Lion Awards ceremony. The favourite for the night was Tomáš Mašín’s period drama Brothers [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Tomáš Mašín
film profile], which had been leading with 15 nominations. The film was also picked by the Academy as the domestic submission for the Oscars race. However, Brothers ended the night as arguably the most overlooked movie of the ceremony, clinching only the Best Film Award. Other contenders in the category included She Came at Night [+see also:
film review
interview: Tomáš Pavlíček, Jan Vejnar
film profile], Waltzing Matylda and We Have Never Been Modern [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Matěj Chlupáček and Miro Ši…
film profile]. Curiously enough, Mašín was competing against himself, as his other 2023 film, Suppressed, a drama about aphasia, was also nominated.

Brothers was not the only film to find itself overlooked at the awards ceremony, though; two other notable flicks also faced similar fates. Matěj Chlupáček's We Have Never Been Modern and Tomáš Klein's A Sensitive Person [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Tomáš Klein
film profile] did not cash in on any awards, despite their nominations. We Have Never Been Modern began the night with 12 nods, demonstrating high expectations from various quarters for its critical and artistic success. Meanwhile, A Sensitive Person had five nominations.

In contrast, the evening's most unexpected triumph came from Czech Television's retro miniseries Volga, directed by Jan Pachl. The show, which delves into two decades of the normalisation period, starting in 1971 in Czechoslovakia, and follows a chauffeur at the communist Czech Television station driving the eponymous car while spying under the same codename, garnered five awards from its six nominations, marking it out as the most celebrated domestic work of the event.

The dark home-invasion comedy She Came at Night, which dominated the Czech Film Critics’ Award ceremony a month ago, netting the Best Film, Best Director(s) and Best Actress Awards, secured the Best Director gong for Tomáš Pavlíček and Jan Vejnar, as well as the Best Actress trophy for the film's lead, Simona Peková, a theatre thesp for whom this invasive mother-in-law has been the first leading role in a film. Robert Hloz’s ambitious domestic sci-fi movie Restore Point [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Robert Hloz
film profile] also made its mark, triumphing in the technical categories, winning four awards in addition to the Film Fans' Award.

The ceremony paid special homage to individuals for their exceptional contributions to the industry. Cinematographer Vladimír Smutný (The Painted Bird [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Václav Marhoul
film profile]) was honoured with a Special Award for his Extraordinary Contributions to Cinematography, celebrating his impactful career and the visual excellence he has consistently brought to Czech cinema. Additionally, Polish director Agnieszka Holland, along with Czech producer Šárka Cimbalová, received the Extraordinary Audiovisual Achievement recognition for their award-winning drama Green Border [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], a project staged as a Czech co-production. Holland joked that she now has more Lions than Eagles, referring to her previous win at the Polish national film awards (see the news).

Slovak helmer Peter Bebjak received the Award for Best Television Film or Miniseries for Mathematics of Crime, produced by Slovak company DNA Production for local VoD streamer Voyo. This accolade continues Bebjak's streak of successes at the Czech Lions, following his previous win for Best Television Drama Series with Nineties (see the news). In the realm of animation and short films, rising talent Daria Khascheeva was given the Magnesia Award for Best Student Film for her surreal drama Electra (see the news), a work that also garnered the Best Short Film Award from the Czech Film Critics. In her thank-you speech, Khascheeva used the opportunity to express strong support for working mothers and soon-to-be-mothers within the domestic audiovisual industry, underscoring the importance of creating a more inclusive and supportive environment for working mums. Further underlining the vibrancy of the Czech animation scene, Tony, Shelly and the Magic Light [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] pocketed the Best Animated Film Award in addition to the Best Audiovisual Work Award, with its director, Filip Pošivač, previously hailed as Discovery of the Year at the Czech Film Critics’ Awards.

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

Best Film
Brothers [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Tomáš Mašín
film profile] – Tomáš Mašín (Czech Republic/Slovakia/Germany)

Best Documentary
All Ends Well – Miroslav Janek

Best Director
Tomáš Pavlíček, Jan Vejnar – She Came at Night [+see also:
film review
interview: Tomáš Pavlíček, Jan Vejnar
film profile]

Best Actress
Simona Peková – She Came at Night

Best Actor
Kryštof Hádek – Volga

Best Supporting Actress
Milena Steinmasslová – Suppressed

Best Supporting Actor
Tomáš Jeřábek - Volga

Best Screenplay
Alice Nellis – Suppressed

Best Cinematography
Filip Marek – Restore Point [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Robert Hloz
film profile] (Czech Republic/Slovakia/Poland/Serbia)

Best Editing
Jarosław Kamiński – Restore Point

Best Sound
Lukáš Ujčík, Samuel Jurkovič, Jan Šulcek – Restore Point

Best Music
Michal Pavlíček – Waltzing Matylda (Czech Republic/Slovakia)

Best Set Design
Ondřej Lipenský – Restore Point

Best Costume Design
Vladimíra Pachl Fomínová - Volga

Best Make-up and Hairstyling
Martin Valeš, Jana Bílková, Martin Větrovec - Volga

Best Television Film or Miniseries
Mathematics of Crime – Peter Bebjak

Best Television Drama Series
Volga – Jan Pachl

Best Animated Film
Tony, Shelly and the Magic Light [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] – Filip Pošivač (Hungary/Slovakia/Czech Republic)

Best Short Film
Credentialing – Jan Hecht

Extraordinary Audiovisual Achievement
Agnieszka Holland, Šárka Cimbalová – Green Border [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] (Poland/Czech Republic/France/Belgium)

Honorary Award for Extraordinary Contribution to Czech Cinema
Vladimír Smutný

Non-statutory awards

Magnesia Award for Best Student Film
Electra – Daria Kashscheeva

Best Film Poster
Suppressed – Robert V Novák, Zuzana Burgrová

Film Fans’ Award
Restore Point – Robert Hloz