The Czech Film and Television Academy (CFTA) has honoured the finest achievements in Czech cinema and television at the 32nd Czech Lion Awards. Jiří Mádl’s historical drama Waves [+lire aussi :
critique
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interview : Jiří Mádl
fiche film] led the nominees with 14 nods and was considered the frontrunner, particularly after being selected by the CFTA as the Czech entry for the Academy Awards (see the news). Viktor Tauš’s kaleidoscopic, colourful coming-of-age tale Girl America [+lire aussi :
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interview : Viktor Tauš
fiche film] was another prominent contender. Mádl’s period action-drama emerged as the night’s most highly awarded film, securing six prizes, including Best Film, Best Director and Best Screenplay, while Girl America won three technical awards: Best Cinematography, Best Stage Design and Best Costume Design. Waves, which revisits the events of 1968, focusing on the Prague Spring and the subsequent Soviet invasion, resonated with voting academy members as well as the local audience, as the film dominated the domestic box office (see the news). The CFTA’s choice for Best Film diverged from that of the Czech critics, who had awarded their top prize to Girl America at the annual Czech Film Critics’ Awards one-month prior.

In the television category, Pavel Soukup’s true-crime miniseries The Markovič Method: Hojer, which explores murder investigations in 1980s Czechoslovakia, led the pack with ten nominations. The series, produced for VoD platform Voyo under commercial broadcaster TV Nova, had previously won Best TV Series from Central and Eastern Europe at the Czech-based Serial Killer festival (see the news). Following closely on its tail were two Czech Television productions and Daughter of the Nation [+lire aussi :
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fiche série], the first Canal+ original miniseries shot in the Czech Republic, receiving five nominations apiece. Czech Television’s period biopic Smetana, depicting the final 15 years in composer Bedřich Smetana’s life, also earned five nods. Four nominations went to the Czech adaptation of the Belgian dark comedy Sense for Tumour and the second season of the morning-show satire Good Morning, Brno!. The Markovič Method: Hojer emerged as the most highly awarded television production, winning three prizes, including Best Miniseries or Television Series. Good Morning, Brno! II won in two acting categories, Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress, newly introduced this year. These additions reflect a growing convergence between film and television within the Czech audiovisual industry, a shift underscored by the recent transformation of the Czech Film Fund into the Czech Audiovisual Fund (see the news).

The Award for Best Documentary Film went to Klára Tasovská’s I’m Not Everything I Want to Be [+lire aussi :
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interview : Klára Tasovská
fiche film], a portrait of photographer Libuše Jarcovjáková composed entirely of her own images. The movie added another accolade to its growing list of honours. A similar recognition went to Living Large [+lire aussi :
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interview : Kristina Dufková
fiche film], which had previously won the Contrechamp Jury Award at the Annecy Film Festival and was shortlisted for last year’s European Film Awards. In addition to securing Best Animated Film, it also received the Award for Best Original Score. In the acting categories, Pavla Beretová won Best Actress for her role in Year of the Widow [+lire aussi :
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fiche film], while Oldřich Kaiser was awarded the male equivalent for his silent performance in the dramedy The Gardener’s Year [+lire aussi :
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fiche film]. The ceremony also honoured industry veterans. Director Karel Smyczek received the Award for Contributions to Czech Cinema, while a posthumous tribute was dedicated to composer and conductor Mario Klemens, whose work spanned decades’ worth of Czech and Slovak film scores. This year’s event placed particular emphasis on recognising behind-the-scenes professionals, with technical crew members announcing the winners alongside actors and actresses.

Here is the complete list of winners:

Best Film
Waves [+lire aussi :
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interview : Jiří Mádl
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Best Director
Jiří Mádl – Waves

Best Documentary Film
I'm Not Everything I Want to Be [+lire aussi :
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interview : Klára Tasovská
fiche film] – Klára Tasovská (Czech Republic/Slovakia/Austria)

Best Actress in a Leading Role
Pavla Beretová – Year of the Widow [+lire aussi :
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fiche film] (Czech Republic/Slovakia/Croatia)

Best Actor in a Leading Role
Oldřich Kaiser – The Gardener’s Year [+lire aussi :
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fiche film] (Czech Republic)

Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Tatiana Pauhofová – Waves

Best Actor in a Supporting Role
Stanislav Majer – Waves

Best Screenplay
Jiří Mádl – Waves

Best Cinematography
Martin Douba – Girl America [+lire aussi :
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interview : Viktor Tauš
fiche film] (Czech Republic/Slovakia/Switzerland)

Best Film Editing
Alexander Kashcheev - I'm Not Everything I Want to Be

Best Sound
Viktor Ekrt – Waves

Best Music
Michal Novinski – Living Large [+lire aussi :
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interview : Kristina Dufková
fiche film] (Czech Republic/Slovakia/France)

Best Stage Design
Jan Kadlec – Girl America

Best Costume Design
Jan Kadlec – Girl America

Best Make-up and Hairstyling
Jana Bílková, Martin Valeš, Martin Větrovec – Smetana (Czech Republic)

Best Miniseries or Drama Series
The Markovič Method: Hojer – Pavel Soukup (Czech Republic)

Best Actress in a Leading Role in a Serial Work
Zuzana Zlatohlávková – Good Morning, Brno! II (Czech Republic)

Best Actor in a Leading Role in a Serial Work
Petr Lněnička – The Markovič Method: Hojer

Best Supporting Actress in a Leading Role in a Serial Work
Simona Lewandowská – Good Morning, Brno! II

Best Supporting Actor in a Leading Role in a Serial Work
Petr Uhlík – The Markovič Method: Hojer

Best Animated Film
Living Large – Kristina Dufková

Best Short Film
Buzz of the Earth – Greta Stocklassa (Czech Republic)

Honorary Awards for Unique Contribution to Czech Cinema
Karel Smyczek
Mário Klemens

Non-statutory awards

Best Film Poster
Girl America – Jan Kadlec, Jan Poukar

Magnesia Award for Best Student Film
Weeds – Pola Kazak (Czech Republic)

Film Fans’ Award
Waves – Jiří Mádl