25/09/2025 - The 38th edition combines a showcase of new Czech cinema with an industry programme designed to connect national filmmakers with international experts, producers and festival representatives

The Bugaboo by Tomáš Pavlíček and Kateřina Karhánková (© CinemArt)

The 38th edition of Finále Plzeň (26 September-1 October) continues to showcase Czech cinema, bringing together fresh national productions, exclusive premieres and an industry strand tailored for international professionals. The festival’s competition, adjudicated by international juries, features nine fiction and animated features, nine documentaries, 13 television and streaming projects, and 12 student shorts.

The gathering opens with one of the year’s most hotly anticipated domestic titles, Franz [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Agnieszka Holland
film profile] by acclaimed director Agnieszka Holland. The historical drama, fresh from its screenings at Toronto and San Sebastián, revisits the life and legacy of Franz Kafka through an atmospheric and formally daring approach. The fiction feature and animation competition includes Zuzana Kirchnerová’s Caravan [+see also:
film review
interview: Zuzana Kirchnerová
film profile], Dužan Duong’s Summer School, 2001 [+see also:
film review
interview: Dužan Duong
film profile] and Vojtěch Strakatý’s The Other Side of Summer [+see also:
film review
interview: Vojtěch Strakatý
film profile] alongside debuting filmmaker Katarína Gramatová’s Promise, I'll Be Fine [+see also:
film review
film profile], Petr Kazda and Tomáš Weinreb’s Nobody Loves Me [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], Ondřej Provazník’s Broken Voices [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ondřej Provazník
film profile], and Tereza Nvotová’s Father [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Tereza Nvotová
film profile].

Over the course of six days, the festival will present premieres and previews of both film and television productions. Among the highlights in the First Catch section are the family adventure flicks Sugar Candy by Pavel Jandourek, The Bugaboo by Tomáš Pavlíček and Kateřina Karhánková, and Hurvínek by Vojtěch Frič. The closing film, Matěj Pichler’s ensemble comedy Něco za něco, will bow as a world premiere. The television showcase will premiere Jiří Strach’s mother-daughter TV film Mum, Jan Hřebejk’s new series The Fall of the House of Koller, Michal Blaško’s The Offspring, starring Aňa Geislerová, and the highly anticipated Monyová, about late writer Simona Monyová, led by Tereza Ramba.

Finále Plzeň will also play host to an array of international titles, as the ZOOM section this year turns its gaze westward, spotlighting Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg with works such as Veerle Baetens’ When It Melts [+see also:
film review
interview: Veerle Baetens
film profile], Fabrizio Maltese’s The Invitation and Peter Hoogendoorn’s Three Days of Fish [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Peter Hoogendoorn
film profile]. The German Cinema sidebar showcases Tim Fehlbaum’s September 5 [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], Andreas Dresen’s youth resistance drama From Hilde, with Love [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Andreas Dresen
film profile] and Daniel Abma’s The Family Approach.

Beyond screenings, Finále Plzeň hosts an industry programme in partnership with the Czech Film Center, the MIDPOINT Institute and the Czech Film Commission, designed to connect Czech talent with the international film community. The schedule includes MIDPOINT Focus CZ, introducing Czech creators to international script consultants and producers; the final workshop of the MIDPOINT Feature Launch international development programme for debut and sophomore feature projects; Czech Film Springboard, a closed pitching and consultation platform presenting new Czech projects to invited international experts; Eurimages funding insights and one-to-one networking; the inaugural Czech Leonarda Award, promoting female-authored projects in film, TV, animation and new media; and a master’s talk with Eric Kaplan, writer of Futurama and The Big Bang Theory, who will also unveil the pilot for his new animated sci-fi comedy Guys Next Door. Networking opportunities include a Czech-German producers’ dinner and a location tour of the Brdy region for international producers, location managers and filmmakers.

The full line-up of the 38th Finále Plzeň is available here.