Czech writer-director Vojtěch Strakatý is completing his second feature, The Other Side of Summer, following his debut, After Party [+lire aussi :
critique
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interview : Vojtěch Strakatý
fiche film], which premiered last year at Venice. His latest work is a coming-of-age story incorporating elements of magical realism. Focusing on adolescent longing, female friendship and escapist fantasy, the film has been selected for the Proxima section of this year’s Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (see the news).

The story follows 15-year-olds Bětka (Lucie Fingerhutová) and Alma (Nikola Kylarová) as they spend a languid holiday by a lakeside, supervised by Bětka’s older sister Marie (Eliška Bašusová Hanušová, from After Party). The girls dream of escaping to a beach party across the lake, but their plans take an unexpected turn when Alma discovers a mysterious pond on an island in the reservoir, one that can transport people anywhere in the world.

The film continues Strakatý’s interest in minimalist, genre-blending storytelling. “Since my youth,” he told Cineuropa, “I’ve been fascinated by the contradiction between where and with whom we long to be, and where and with whom we actually find ourselves at any given moment. It’s that constant effort to get somewhere better, over the hill, beyond the horizon, in another town.” For Strakatý, summer holidays provide a fitting metaphor for this restlessness, sharpening what he describes as a “perpetual dissatisfaction” with the present. Drawing on the visual and narrative languages of pop music, video games, and adventure cinema and television, he conceived The Other Side of Summer as “a heightened mystery-adventure film, combined with a summer coming-of-age story”.

While The Other Side of Summer centres on a group of teenage girls caught up in an unexpected lakeside adventure, Strakatý sought to avoid the clichés typically associated with the genre. “I wanted to respond to, and push back against, many summer coming-of-age films,” he continued. “They often feel too detached from reality. Just as holiday expectations are rarely met in real life, my film diverges from conventional narrative arcs and avoids catering to viewer expectations. The protagonists don’t experience a first kiss, don’t meet the love of their life, don’t arrive at the perfect party, and don’t defeat a clear antagonist. They do have an adventure, but it unfolds in ways they neither anticipated nor fully desired.”

The creative team includes editor Filip de Pina (After Party) and cinematographer Stanislav Adam (Blix Not Bombs [+lire aussi :
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fiche film]), while shooting took place at the Seč Reservoir in Eastern Bohemia and along the Croatian coast. The production employed low-impact shooting practices throughout. The original score features contributions from indie musician Amelie Siba and composer Kryštof Kříček. Czech producer Ondřej Lukeš, of Beginner’s Mind, was drawn to the project by a screenplay that, as he explains, “addresses the real concerns of today’s younger generation, while also incorporating a sense of adventure and action”. He was particularly interested in the film’s hybrid tone. “This kind of genre mix really appeals to me,” he told Cineuropa. “And I think Vojtěch has managed to strike a balance between serious moments and humour, something I always appreciate.”

The Other Side of Summer is being produced by Lukeš for Beginner’s Mind (Czech Republic), in co-production with Matija Drniković and Tamara Babun Zovko, of Wolfgang & Dolly (Croatia), Czech Television and Sleepwalker (Czech Republic). The project was supported by the Czech Audiovisual Fund, the Pardubice region, the Creative Vouchers programme and the town of Seč. The Czech distribution will be handled by Aerofilms, with the domestic theatrical release planned for mid-September 2025.