The annual spotlight on Czech cinema, Finále Plzeň, is gearing up for its 36th edition (22-27 September), under the fresh leadership of its new artistic director, Lenka Tyrpáková. Until recently, Tyrpáková had served as a programmer for the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, in a variety of positions she had held since 2005. In 2021, she began her collaboration with Finále Plzeň, curating its short films. This year, she has selected Matěj Chlupáček's We Have Never Been Modern [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
intervista: Matěj Chlupáček e Miro Šifra
scheda film] (Czech Republic/Slovakia) as the opening film. “Although it's a period drama,” Tyrpáková remarked, “its visual style and the themes it delves into are incredibly contemporary. Moreover, it's a film that stands up very well in international competition.”

Movies spread across five competition categories will be adjudicated by international juries, consisting solely of foreign film experts, and by student panels from the West Bohemia University in Pilsen. “Out of the 171 films in contention, 38 are vying for the Golden Kingfisher Award,” stated festival director Eva Veruňková Košařová. She further commented: “Yet, Finále isn't merely a platform for competition films. Dozens more will grace other segments, including a retrospective of the past year's standout audiovisual works in ‘In the Net’, a sample of premieres and previews in the ‘First Catch’ section, and a spotlight on films involving Czech film professionals, showcased under ‘Czech Traces’.”

Festival-goers will be captivated by the Czech premiere of the drama Green Border [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
scheda film] (Poland/Czech Republic/France/Belgium), directed by three-time Oscar nominee Agnieszka Holland. Fresh from its Venice Film Festival debut, where it clinched the Special Jury Prize, this feature is set to be a particular highlight. Additionally, the line-up will flaunt the sci-fi flick Restore Point [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
intervista: Robert Hloz
scheda film] (Czech Republic/Slovakia/Poland/Serbia) and the Annecy International Festival's award-winning animated feature Tony, Shelly and the Magic Light [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
scheda film] by Filip Pošivač (Hungary/Slovakia/Czech Republic).

The competition of fiction and animation features includes Brutal Heat [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
intervista: Albert Hospodářský
scheda film] by Albert Hospodářský (Czech Republic/Slovakia), A Sensitive Person [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
intervista: Tomáš Klein
scheda film] by Tomáš Klein (Czech Republic/Slovakia), Snake Gas [+leggi anche:
recensione
scheda film] by David Jařab (Czech Republic/Slovakia), Power [+leggi anche:
recensione
scheda film] by Mátyás Prikler (Czech Republic/Slovakia/Hungary – see the news), Endless Borders [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
intervista: Abbas Amini
scheda film] by Abbas Amini (Czech Republic/Germany), She Came at Night [+leggi anche:
recensione
intervista: Tomáš Pavlíček, Jan Vejnar
scheda film] by Tomáš Pavlíček and Jan Vejnar (Czech Republic), and the aforementioned Tony, Shelly and the Magic Light and We Have Never Been Modern.

Meanwhile, the competition of documentary features comprises Adam Ondra: Pushing the Limits [+leggi anche:
trailer
scheda film] by Jan Šimánek and Petr Záruba (Czech Republic/Italy), Generace A: Do What You Love by Kryštof Zvolánek (Czech Republic), Citizen Miko by Robin Kvapil (Czech Republic), The Visitors [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
scheda film] by Veronika Lišková (Czech Republic/Norway/Slovakia), Happily Ever After by Jana Počtová (Czech Republic), Big Nothing by Vít Klusák and Marika Pecháčková (Czech Republic – see the news), Všechno dobře dopadne by Miroslav Janek (Czech Republic), All Men Become Brothers [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
scheda film] by Robert Kirchhoff (Czech Republic/Slovakia) and The Investigator [+leggi anche:
trailer
intervista: Viktor Portel
scheda film] by Viktor Portel (Croatia/Czech Republic).

Finally, the “ZOOM” section, dedicated to Central and Eastern European cinema, will present a trio of Ukrainian gems: the semi-autobiographical comedy by Antonio Lukich Luxembourg, Luxembourg [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
intervista: Antonio Lukich
scheda film], Eastern Front [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
intervista: Vitaly Mansky, Yevhen Tita…
scheda film] by Vitaly Mansky and Yevhen Titarenko, and Kateryna Gornostai's Stop-Zemlia [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
intervista: Kateryna Gornostai
scheda film]. Alongside these Ukrainian offerings, the festival will spotlight contemporary German cinema, showcasing Sophie Linnenbaum's The Ordinaries [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
intervista: Sophie Linnenbaum
scheda film], Henning Beckhoff's Fossil and Andreas Dresen's courtroom dramedy Rabiye Kurnaz vs. George W. Bush [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
intervista: Andreas Dresen
intervista: Meltem Kaptan
scheda film].