Film programme 2022

Toilet Talks (2022)

Section: New Czech Film and TV Programmes

Directed by: Erika Hníková

Czech Republic, 2022, 22 min

Score:

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About sex for young people just starting out in this area of life. Two young women, Terézia and Zuzana, talk in the restroom about various topics related to sexuality, intimacy, physicality, and self-acceptance. They tell their own stories, sometimes they invite guests, but they always speak plainly and with knowledge. The goal is sex education, to “expell myths”, and get teenagers to think about the role of social networks, media icons, and pornography in their lives.

Dr. Bird's Advice for Sad Poets (2021)

Section: Beyond the Childhood Horizon

Directed by: Yaniv Raz

United States of America, 2021, 110 min

Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema 6

Score:

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James Whitman (16) struggles to overcome anxiety and depression by seeking advice from Dr. Bird. In his magical realism inspired world, James goes on a whimsical, but emotionally charged search to solve the mystery of the disappearance of his sister after an altercation with their parents. While James struggles to connect with his parents, he deals with the intense social anxiety of high school life while navigating his first love with a precocious girl from school.

Besties (2021)

Section: Beyond the Childhood Horizon

Directed by: Desseigne Ravel Marion

France, 2021, 80 min

Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema 5

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Paris. Nedjma, a teenager living with her mom and sister, spends the summer with her gang. Her life is turned upside down when she meets Zina, from another gang. Rivals in broad daylight; they are lovers in secret. Nedjma is sucked into a spiral, torn apart between the values of the hood and her own desire, which no one around her can possibly understand or tolerate. She will have to make a choice that will ultimately define who she is.

Mikado (2021)

Section: Festival Laurels from around the World

Directed by: Emanuel Parvu

Romania, Czech Republic, 2021, 96 min

Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema 6

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One day, teenaged Magda offers her expensive necklace to a sick child in a hospital where she volunteers. Her father is sure she's lying again. When she proves her innocence, her father feels guilty, but is also unable to admit that he was wrong. Relationships are damaged and in chaos... Prior decisions have irreversible results.

Keeper (2015)

Section: Top Teen Ten

Directed by: Guillaume Senez

Belgium, Switzerland, France, 2015, 95 min

Projection place: Castle SVOBODY

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Maxime and Mélanie are in love. Together they clumsily explore their sexuality with fiery curiosity until the day Mélanie realizes she´s pregnant. At first Maxime takes the news badly, but then he gets used to the idea of becoming a father. He convinces Melanie to keep the baby. So it´s been decided - Maxime and Mélanie, all of fifteen years old, are going to become parents

The Sign Painter (2020)

Section: New Czech Film and TV Programmes

Directed by: Viesturs Kairišs

Latvia, Czech Republic, Lithuania, 2020, 118 min

Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema 5

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A tragicomic drama of love and loss and the story of a man who, in a short space of time, finds himself gradually in the midst of three totalitarian regimes: the authoritarian state of pre-war Latvia and, during the war, the era of communism and Nazism. The absurd and grotesque situation, Kafkaesque atmosphere, great love for two women, important moral decisions accompany the main hero throughout the cruel and lyrical history of last century's Eastern Europe.

The Cursed Cave (2022)

Section: New Czech Film and TV Programmes

Directed by: Mariana Čengel Solčanská

Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovak Republic, 2022, 98 min

Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema 1

Score:

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A wondrous cave contains rare treasures, salt, and precious rubies. The miners can take all the salt they need, but they can't take anything from the ruby hall of the cave. Whoever takes a ruby will suffer a curse. The burgomaster's daughter Lena craves a precious gem from the cave. Her reckless act upends the fragile balance of the kingdom and also affects her. Only a good-hearted man can free the cursed Lena; he must return the stolen ruby back to the heart of the cave...

The Tenant (2021)

Section: International Competition of Feature Films in the Junior Category

Directed by: Sushrut Jain

India, United States of America, 2021, 112 min

Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema 6

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Bharat is a 13-year-old boy struggling with adolescence in a conservative Mumbai suburb. When Meera, a beautiful cosmopolitan woman from the big city, moves in next door, she immediately causes a stir. Bharat is drawn to her and pursues an unlikely friendship. But when he stumbles upon a dark secret from Meera’s past, Bharat is forced to choose: Is she a woman of bad character like everyone says, or is she the smart, sensitive person he knows?

The Sad Princess (1968)

Section: Special Mention

Directed by: Bořivoj Zeman

Czechoslovakia, 1968, 89 min

Projection place: Congress Centre

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Princess Helena and Prince Wenceslas were betrothed by their royal fathers The two don't know each other and don't want to get married. But when they accidentally meet each other while disguised, they fall in love – not knowing who each other really is! Helena wants her father to marry her to this “beloved young man” and begins playing the sad princess to move him. When the kings’ advisers learn of this “affair”, they start a war between the two kingdoms. Can common sense win out?

Scoundrels (2022)

Section: International Competition of Feature Films in the Youth Category

Directed by: Aditya Sarpotdar

India, 2022, 120 min

Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema 6

Score:

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Unaad is a coming-of-age story about three teenagers from Harne, a small coastal fishing town in Maharashtra. Shubya, Bandya, and Jameel are three friends who while away their time roaming around town and have no I am in life. The locals consider them the scoundrels of the town as these boys are known to get into trouble. This is the story of the phase in their lives that changes them forever.

The Tenant (2021)

Section: International Competition of Feature Films in the Junior Category

Directed by: Sushrut Jain

India, United States of America, 2021, 112 min

Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema 3

Score:

• Info

Bharat is a 13-year-old boy struggling with adolescence in a conservative Mumbai suburb. When Meera, a beautiful cosmopolitan woman from the big city, moves in next door, she immediately causes a stir. Bharat is drawn to her and pursues an unlikely friendship. But when he stumbles upon a dark secret from Meera’s past, Bharat is forced to choose: Is she a woman of bad character like everyone says, or is she the smart, sensitive person he knows?

Soul of a Beast (2021)

Section: International Competition of Feature Films in the Youth Category

Directed by: Lorenz Merz

Switzerland, 2021, 110 min

Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema 6

Score:

• Info

In a delirious summer rush, teenage father Gabriel falls in love with the enigmatic Corey, the girlfriend of his best friend Joel. Overwhelmed with the decision of his life, Gabriel is catapulted into the unforgiving wilderness of his heart, where imagination is more real than reality. Director succeeds in treading the line between film genres - post-apocalyptic films, coming of age tales, Samurai sagas, etc. - without ever sliding into pure compilation.

Sublime (2022)

Section: International Competition of Feature Films in the Youth Category

Directed by: Mariano Biasin

Argentina, 2022, 100 min

Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema 5

Score:

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Manuel (16) lives in a small coastal town. He plays bass in a band with his best friends. One of them is Felipe, with whom he’s been good friends since childhood. Manuel is dating Azul, a relationship that they are intensely exploring. But when it comes time to have their first time together, Manuel feels something completely new that makes him see Felipe with different eyes. The routines of their friendship change tenor. Manuel tries to figure out if the impulse is mutual. The challenge is in not putting their friendship at risk. Something that inevitably ends up being tested.

Black (2016)

Section: Top Teen Ten

Directed by: Adil El Arbi, Bilall Fallah

Belgium, 2016, 95 min

Projection place: Castle SVOBODY

Score:

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Mavela, a 15-year-old black teenager was a misfit until she encountered the Black Bronx, a well-known gang of young Africans. She feels at home in the gang: accepted. She has friends now, who get her mixed up in street life. For the very first time, Mavela feels like she belongs. In return, she quickly learns that Black Bronx is a lifetime commitment; once a gang member, always a gang member. And she has no intention of leaving. One day, however, she meets Marwan. He´s Moroccan and a member of the 1080s, another teenage gang and the enemy of the Black Bronx gang. It´s love at first sight, but a dangerous Romeo and Juliet story now begins

Scoundrels (2022)

Section: International Competition of Feature Films in the Youth Category

Directed by: Aditya Sarpotdar

India, 2022, 120 min

Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema 5

Score:

• Info

Unaad is a coming-of-age story about three teenagers from Harne, a small coastal fishing town in Maharashtra. Shubya, Bandya, and Jameel are three friends who while away their time roaming around town and have no I am in life. The locals consider them the scoundrels of the town as these boys are known to get into trouble. This is the story of the phase in their lives that changes them forever.

Social Suicide (2015)

Section: Top Teen Ten

Directed by: Bruce Webb

United Kingdom, 2015, 92 min

Projection place: Castle SVOBODY

Score:

• Info

A teen thriller about the devastating impact of one wrong post - loosely based on Romeo and Juliet. After a scared boy is arrested for the murder of two teenagers, he must convince the police of his innocence so that he can save his best friend from dying. However, his story is brought into question by his own internet history, the half-truths posted by concerned teenagers and messages beyond the dead from the victims themselves. When the police realize that one boy is willing to do anything for internet fame, even die, the stakes are raised in this nail-biting race-against-the-clock thriller

Dr. Bird's Advice for Sad Poets (2021)

Section: Beyond the Childhood Horizon

Directed by: Yaniv Raz

United States of America, 2021, 110 min

Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema 4

Score:

• Info

James Whitman (16) struggles to overcome anxiety and depression by seeking advice from Dr. Bird. In his magical realism inspired world, James goes on a whimsical, but emotionally charged search to solve the mystery of the disappearance of his sister after an altercation with their parents. While James struggles to connect with his parents, he deals with the intense social anxiety of high school life while navigating his first love with a precocious girl from school.

Soul of a Beast (2021)

Section: International Competition of Feature Films in the Youth Category

Directed by: Lorenz Merz

Switzerland, 2021, 110 min

Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema 6

Score:

• Info

In a delirious summer rush, teenage father Gabriel falls in love with the enigmatic Corey, the girlfriend of his best friend Joel. Overwhelmed with the decision of his life, Gabriel is catapulted into the unforgiving wilderness of his heart, where imagination is more real than reality. Director succeeds in treading the line between film genres - post-apocalyptic films, coming of age tales, Samurai sagas, etc. - without ever sliding into pure compilation.

TBH (2022)

Section: New Czech Film and TV Programmes

Directed by: Lucia Kajánková

Czech Republic, 2022, 138 min

Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema 3

Score:

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The abbreviation TBH in Czech online slang represents the phrase "to be honest". A web series shows the search for boundaries in the painful world of adolescence and manipulative social networks and describes how a shooting attack forever changes the lives of several Brno high school students. What will change after the attack in a community where the cruel rules have been determined by the strong boys from the floorball team and their angry fans – a girl group that calls itself Bitchez?

Hard Shell, Soft Shell (2021)

Section: Beyond the Childhood Horizon

Directed by: Emma Benestan

France, 2021, 100 min

Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema 5

Score:

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Loved-up oyster farmer Az thinks he’s made it. But when an elaborate proposal goes awry and his girlfriend Jess breaks his heart, Az is forced to confront his understanding of what happiness really looks like – both hers and his own.