62nd Zlín Film Festival has started!

After two years of holding the "live" part of the Zlín Film Festival in September, it's returning to its traditional spring term in the festival calendar.

"We are glad that we can finally again offer the festival to audiences during the accustomed period, and that during its course we will again celebrate Children's Day,"

says the president of the Zlín Film Festival Čestmír Vančura, adding that with the return to the traditional date, the interest in visits from schools and foreign festival guests has increased significantly.

"We were pleasantly surprised that even the morning programs for schools are again enjoying such interest this year, just like before the Covid period – perhaps even greater. At the moment we have completely filled cinema halls for school screenings, as well as the morning workshops,"

Čestmír Vančura evaluated the situation and added:

"The number of non-Zlín schools that are preparing for a school trip to the festival has also increased significantly. Compared to 2019, we have seen an increase of almost 50% in this area."

 After two years, a number of jurors and film delegations from all over the world are also heading to Zlín to accompany their films.

"The capacity of all the city's accommodation facilities and those of the surrounding area are completely packed at the moment,"

confirmed the executive director of the festival Jarmila Záhorová.

The theme of the festival this year is the festival itself.

"We want to strongly emphasize face to face communication with a particular focus on the younger population and invite people to turn off their monitors, limit e-communication on their social networking sites, and go to the cinema, to a concert, or experience some other activity,"

explains Executive Director Jarmila Záhorová.

In its film program, the 62nd Zlín Film Festival is offering a total of 276 films from 49 countries around the world. The morning opening film of the festival will be the feature-length animated 3D film Journey to Yourland, which was created in Czech-Slovak-Belgian co-production. In Zlín, it will be presented to moviegoers in its world premiere and distribution preview on Thursday, May 26 at 10 am.

As part of the evening opening, audiences can look forward to the German film The Path at 7 pm. It captures the exciting story of a little boy wandering through the mountains from France to Spain to get to America to escape the war. The first awards will also be presented during the evening. The Golden Slipper for outstanding contribution to cinema for children and youth will be received by actor, comedian, and presenter Pavel Zedníček.

"I was very pleased. Not only because the Golden Slipper is Zlín-based, but also because I graduated from the Secondary Industrial Leather School, so shoemaking is not foreign to me. And I'm supposed to accept a slipper. And golden to boot,"

commented Pavel Zedníček, who will also present the premiere of the new Czech miniseries Morning Glow.

 The first festival evening will also be the occasion to present the Technology Agency of the Czech Republic award "For the popularization of science among youth". This year, the expert jury focused on digital artists who have popularized science through websites and social networks and presented various pieces of knowledge to the young generation in an entertaining way. This year's festival awards includes the brand new Patron of Children Audience Award for the portrayal of a strong children's story. „During the festival week, visitors will have the opportunity to vote for 11 selected films from the festival film program directly in the cinemas," explains Markéta Pášmová, the festival's artistic director, adding that the most successful of them will be announced at the end of the festival during the gala evening.

 The festival's organizers are also reflecting the current geopolitical situation and have decided to include a special series of animated films in Ukrainian for children from Ukraine in the film program. "We are not indifferent to the situation in Ukraine and we have therefore decided to please the children who now live in Zlín at least a little bit. On Saturday, May 28, at 11:30 am, we will present a selection of 12 episodes of the animated series called My Country Ukraine," said Markéta Pášmová. The screening will be attended by the Head of the Mission of the consulate of the Ukrainian Embassy Mrs. Anna Proshko. Admission to the performance is free for Ukrainian families.

The film and supporting programs will again offer a number of opportunities to families to spend some free time together. At traditional locations, visitors will be able to experience films, theater, exhibitions, concerts, film (and other) workshops, and creative workshops. This year, the organizers are preparing a new special zone for the young; teenagers can look forward to films intended for them, about youtubers, virtual reality, an evening party in the courtyard of the chateau, an arena for e-sports in front of the chateau, and many other activities. "We want to offer teenagers the opportunity to actively spend their free time in a 'chill' atmosphere, as they say. The TOP TEEN TEN collection or '10 films that you should not miss if you are... a teen',"  says Markéta Pášmová, inviting all to the Zlín Chateau, and adds another festival event: "On Saturday, May 28, we will present a digitally restored version of The Incredibly Sad Princess, which will be preceded by the popular Red Carpet and autograph session with the main protagonist Václav Neckář."

Of course, there will also be traditional events in this year's festival program, such as the annual Clapperboard Salon auction, the MONET+ Zlin Festival Half Marathon, and Painting on the Pavement. However, it is also worth checking out the Friday concert of the band Čechomor and the Saturday theatre performance of the ART Bez Zabradli theater, starring Karel Heřmánek, who will receive a Golden Slipper on June 1 during the gala evening. 

The organizers of the festival will offer current topics through workshops for schools and the public as part of the Children Without Borders conference block. Among other things, they will answer questions about how pre-school and younger schoolchildren perceive periods associated with rapid changes in the world, how easy it is to have "radical" opinions on innocent topics, how disinformation affects us, how to recognize them, how to defend them, and others.