Pavel Pípal

The plot begins in the Soviet Union showing first efforts to establish the Czechoslovak legion in 1942. The film also shows the assassination of Heydrich and the subsequent annihilation of Lidice. The main topis of the film is battles with German troops for Sokolovo.

The distinctive artist, typographer, and writer Josef Váchal is known to the public primarily for his Blood Novel. The surrealistic exuberance of this defense of 19th-century pulp fiction caught the attention of Jaroslav Brabec and his colleagues, who found a corresponding image of 20th-century "trash." The authors' interest focuses primarily on the silent film era, with a journey through the history of cinema continuing through the advent of sound film to the present day (auteur cinema of the 1960s, modern horror), formally employing techniques such as tinted film. The versatile parody intertwines a colorful plot with the story of the author (Váchal/Paseky), who comments on and creates his book, and is further split in the plot into the characters of Fragonard and the Master. As with Váchal, reality increasingly enters the fiction, so that the only "happy ending" turns out to be the artist's finished work.

On 20th of April 1945 the Soviet army launches its attack on Berlin. The end has come for Nazi Germany and Hitler decides to commit suicide. In Prague K.H. Frank (Nazi Secretary of State and Chief of police in the Protectorate of Bohemia a Moravia) discusses with his commanders how to transform the city into an impregnable fortress, but the Praguers do not intend to wait any longer. From the early hours of 4th of May people start assembling in the streets and tearing down German signs. On the next day, the 5th of May, the uprising begins.

Two aspiring car racers have a big dream: they want to make a journey to the heart of Africa. But their value system is severely skewed, and one of them is willing to steal to do it. What's more, he causes a car accident, from which he tries to escape, and ends up in prison.

Princess Julia doesn't want to marry an old prince Hubert so she runs away from home. She meets two old magicians and join the circus, where she meets lovely Franta Kuldan and evil devil performer.

In May 1945, a woman in Marienbad reports a murder - committed in 1933 against the German emigrant Professor Lessing. She also names the murderer. Against the wishes of his superior, who does not feel responsible for this case - it was a fascist femicide - Inspector Šedý picks up the trail and arrests the murderer, the German Eckert. Eckert was a fugitive at the trial in 1933, and now the evidence is no longer available. Nevertheless, Šedý does everything he can to convict him. He finds witnesses who support him - anti-fascists, but also former collaborators who want to clear themselves. Reconstructing the case at the crime scene, Šedý is able to prove that Eckert was at least an accessory. He is convicted. After his release from prison, Eckert goes to West Germany, where he demands compensation from his former clients.

The heroes of the small-town story are former friends Standa Stuchlík and Robert Sura, who become arch enemies, and not only because of their classmate Zuzana, whom they both like. While Robert, the dude, has rich parents who spoil him and buy him everything he asks for, Standa has to earn a hard living playing in a rock band, working part-time in the boiler room and constantly defending his hobby against his parents' disdain. His only support is his uncle Edda, also a musician.

The main characters of the film, inspired by director Soukup's own experiences at the Škodovka factory in Pilsen, are two inseparable friends who, after graduating from the industrial school, join a large engineering plant. Here they spend their first year of post-graduate life, where their vague ideas and ideals clash with their completely different life experience. In addition to their conflicting work experiences, Ondřej and Cyril have to deal with their own personal problems. They have big plans for the future, but their dreams are unexpectedly interrupted by a tragic event.

The distressing fate of the Czech great Jan Amos Komenský, forced to leave his homeland after the White Mountain disaster. It depicts his encounters with various European personalities of the 17th century - the Queen of Sweden, artists and scientists. It emphasises the hero's nobility, but also his inner resilience, which allowed him to overcome many personal and professional tragedies. The parable of The Labyrinth of the World and the Paradise of the Heart becomes part of the story. However, Comenius's concept is sculpturally lifeless and, in particular, the religious dimension is "erased" from it. The simplistic biography therefore does not avoid schoolboyish dryness.

Otakar Vávra dedicated his latest film to events accompanying the devastation of the first World War. It takes place in representative centers of power, in the courts of Vienna, Berlin and Moscow. In parallel, it develops the fate of the Czech archivist, who will take part in the Serbian anti-Austrian branch.

In his feature debut, Dneska přišel nový kluk (A New Boy Started Today) from 1981, the director Vladimír Drha set the tone for a number of Czech films, which critically depicted the state of society from the perspective of young protagonists. Although, Drha primarily found scope for his work in television, he returned to the world of a “working youth” in his second film Mezek (The Mulish Victor, 1985) – albeit following him from the point of view of an educator. NFA.CZ

An interesting attempt at a postmodern crazy comedy with elements of parody. The plot turns on the search for the recipe of a liqueur made by the film’s financial backer.

In the 1980s, the building themes were transformed into bipolar moral dilemmas involving overly ambitious individuals who wanted to excel at any cost. The hero is the head of a demolition crew that demolishes large buildings, initially a sympathetic young man who, in the pursuit of career and accolades, begins to transgress the boundaries of what was then called socialist morality and legality. He gradually finds himself at odds with the principles of ordinary but honest people. The narrative's bland, proclamatory film is closely connected to its time of creation, and there are hardly any more timeless insights to be found.

The common theme of the short story film is the famous duels between two important historical figures: Pushkin and Casanova. Pushkin's tragic duel, which ended his life prematurely, is portrayed in connection with the creation of his short story "The Dirty Shot", while Casanova's story is conceived in a rather ironic and humorous way. The point is that the famous seducer never actually seduced, on the contrary, all his life he was in a constant battle with female seductions.

A gloomy tale about a king whose pride robbed him of love, friends and power. A cruel curse is at the beginning of the story of this fairy tale based on an old Irish legend. Until the king's newly born son raises his sword against his father, there will be no spring in the Hawk Kingdom. Although the king orders the counselor Ordon to kill the child, the nurse saves him and entrusts the child to the care of a bird. He names him Christopher and raises him together with his son Janko. Twenty years later, the king succumbs to Ordon's urging to war with the neighbouring King Ubald. It is in this war that the curse is fulfilled and the tragic fate of the new king, who cannot listen to the right mouth, begins to unfold.

In 1781, Countess Marie Karolina shelters an influential Abbé, a former Jesuit who vehemently opposes progress. Only Dr. Kamenický dares challenge him, restoring the countess’s zest for life. Her husband, obsessed with finding a hidden treasure, neglects the estate and seduces her ward Renáta. Meanwhile, returning exile Václav’s secret reunion with Frantina in cave hideouts is betrayed by jealous suitor Tomáš, who, with the Abbé’s help, unleashes a violent manhunt.

The film tells the story of an enthusiastic young man who joins a textile factory in the late 1950s and assumes that a promising career awaits him - the protagonist is therefore constantly comparing himself to his favourite literary model, the equally ambitious Julian Sorel from Stendhal's fresco The Red and the Black. The result, however, lacks the necessary conviction, the ability to draw the viewer into his world, and remains too contrived, as the chosen period has become a mere non-committal backdrop for amorous games.

A tragicomic story from a tragicomic time - this is how one could characterize Jiří Hubac's play, which premiered in May 1991. The drama of two friends who fought in England as Czech airmen during the war and had to live through the well-known martyrdom after returning home is a story about the power of friendship, the courage to transcend oneself in the face of violence and the right to preserve human memory. The television film by director Jaroslav Dudek, who cast Jiří Bartoska and Josef Dvořák in the lead roles, was honoured with the prestigious Prix Europe international award in Reykjavik.

A quarrel between divorced waitress Mája and her fifteen-year-old son Petr ends with the boy physically attacking his mother, and he is sent to an institution for juvenile delinquents.

Pavlata, the director of an educational institution for juvenile offenders, will push for the early release of Pepík Adamec, whom he respects for his sincere efforts and good work record. However, the boy bears the dishonest and dishonourable behaviour of adults in his new job and in his family.

In May 1945, a broken violinist lies drunk by a creek, haunted by memories of his life before and during WWII. Once the celebrated first violin in spa orchestras, he married Jewish nurse Róza and dreamed of fatherhood, only to face brutal anti-Jewish persecution. Relegated to second violin, he spirals into alcoholism and betrayal, while Róza and their daughter are deported. Cast out by colleagues and lovers, he descends into madness, murdering a vagrant with his violin case. In a final psychotic haze, he tends a roadside Christ statue before collapsing, his shattered life a testament to love, loss, and atrocity.

Set in Czechoslovakia, the drama follows the lives of its characters against the backdrop of real historical events that shape their personal stories. To evoke period atmosphere, the series intersperses authentic clips from vintage Czechoslovak film newsreels, using their original commentaries or newly recorded historical voice-overs by Vladimír Fišer. A narrator, initially voiced by Vojtěch Kotek and later by Matěj Hádek, provides continuity and reflection, guiding viewers through changing times. Under the guidance of screenwriter Rudolf Merkner, each episode’s script weaves family and individual dramas into key moments of Czech and Slovak history: political shifts, cultural trends, and social transformations from the 1960s onward.