About the Film:
Set in 1983 Czechoslovakia, eighteen-year-old sprinter Anna dreams of making the Olympics in Los Angeles. In preparation, her coach puts her on a secret “special care” program designed for exceptional athletes. Through the program, she receives injections of stromba. After learning from her boyfriend’s family that stromba is a dangerous drug that could lead to infertility, Anna rejects taking the injections and her performance levels begin to decline. With the Olympics in jeopardy, Anna’s mother decides to secretly administer the drug to her daughter in order for her to have a chance not only for the Olympics but also to emigrate.

A Q&A with the director follows the screening.

Awards: Represented the Czech Republic for Oscar contention for Best Foreign Film (2015).
Garnered 15 Czech Lion nominations (2015), including Best Film, Best Director, among others. Nominated for the Audience Choice Award at the Chicago IFF and the Crystal Globe Prize at the Karlovy Vary IFF (2014).

About the Director:
Andrea Sedláčková studied screenwriting at the Film and Television Academy of the Performing Arts in Prague (FAMU) before emigrating to France in 1989, where she studied editing and directing at FEMIS film academy in Paris. She made several documentaries and TV films for Czech TV. In 2000, she wrote and directed her feature debut Victims and Murderers (2000). In France, she worked as an editor on a number of feature films, including the Oscar-nominated drama Joyeux Noël. She also recently completed the documentary Life According to Václav Havel, which has been nominated for a Czech Lion for Best Documentary.

The screening is part of Films in Focus, the Lions of Czech Film Series and the touring Czech That Film Festival in collaboration with the Embassy of the Czech Republic (www.czechthatfilm.com).

Location:
Avalon Theatre
5612 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20015

About the Lions of Czech Film Series:   
This marks the ninth year of collaboration with the Avalon Theatre to present the Lions of Czech Film Series. This film series gives the Washington, DC, community an opportunity to view Czech films that are popular hits in Europe and have received numerous honors and awards at film festivals. Most of the films have received the prestigious Czech Lion Award, the Czech equivalent of an Academy Award. All of the films have limited distribution in the United States. The Lions of Czech Film Series offers an invaluable opportunity to see the best of Czech cinema in the nation’s capital.

Photo: 4Press