38th European Union Film Festival
06.11.2023 / 03:54 | Aktualizováno: 03.01.2024 / 10:53
The Canadian Film Institute, in cooperation with the EU Delegation and EU member states, presented a collection of 27 films from the latest film production of all EU member states as part of the film festival, which took place in Ottawa, Toronto and Vancouver from November 16 to 26. The Czech Republic presented the film Il Boemo directed by Petr Václav.
In Ottawa, the festival took place from November 16 till November 26 at the Ottawa Art Gallery, Alma Duncan Salon, 10 Daly Avenue, Level 3.
The European Union Film Festival in Ottawa
At the same time, the festival also took place in Toronto and Vancouver.
The European Union Film Festival in Toronto (from November 16 till November 30)
The European Union Film Festival in Vancouver (from November 16 till November 26)
Nineteen of the collection of 27 films were also available online from December 1 to 17.
The European Union Film Festival online
The Czech Republic was represented at the festival by the narrative biographical film Il Boemo directed by Petr Václav.
Il Boemo
The film drama brings to light the fate of Josef Mysliveček, the most famous Czech composer of the 18th century, an artist who, thanks to his talent, was able to charm even the most demanding audiences, establish himself in the huge competition of Italian composers and ascend to the very top of the opera world at the time. In 2022, the film was awarded the Czech Lion in six categories, including best feature film and best director.
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Petr Vaclav is a graduate of the Film and TV School at the Academy of Performing Arts (FAMU) in Prague. He was nominated for a student Oscar for his film Paní Le Murie (Madame Le Murie), which won the Grand Prix for Documentary Film at the Munich International Festival of Film Schools. His feature debut, Marian, won a number of awards abroad in 1996, including a Silver Leopard at the International Film Festival in Locarno, and prizes for direction in Angers, Belfort, Tehran, and Bratislava. He was also nominated for a Czech Lion award.
His next film, Paralelní světy (Parallel Worlds), was a finalist in the NHK Award — Sundance scriptwriting competition and was screened as part of the competition section at the festival in San Sebastian. His film Cesta ven (The Way Out) was screened in the ACID section at the Cannes Film Festival in 2014 and became the first Czech film to premiere at this most prestigious of film festivals in 23 years. It was awarded seven Czech Lions, including Best Film, Best Screenplay, and Best Director.
The drama Nikdy nejsme sami (We Are Never Alone) (2016) won the Tagesspiegel Award at the Berlinale Festival and the prize for artistic contribution at the Cairo International Film Festival. The documentary Zpověď zapomenutého (Confession of the Vanished) then won the Fipa d'orAward at the Biarritz Festival. Vaclav’s most recent work to date, Skokan (The Jumper), arrived in Czech cinemas in June 2017.