Jaromír Šofr

An opera troupe in a small town decides to perform Mozart's Don Giovanni. The view behind the scenes uncovers the world of opera without the glitter. A tale of love and disappointment, about music and passionate love-making and about people that live their lives in spite of the opera.

Documentary about the making of Vera Chytilová's film DAISIES

Prague, Czechoslovakia, during the inter-war period. Jan Dítě, a young and clever waiter who wants to become a millionaire, comes to the conclusion that to achieve his ambitious goal he must be diligent, listen and observe as much as he can, be always discreet and use what he learns to his own advantage; but the turbulent tides of history will continually stand in his way.

The life of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, the first elected President of Czechoslovakia following the fall of the Austro-Hungarian empire in 1918.

In post-WWII Communist Czechoslovakia, several characters considered bourgeois are sentenced to work in a junkyard for rehabilitation. Among them is a young man who pines for a female convict.

Biography of Karel Čapek.

Czechoslovakia 1918. The newly formed National Assembly has made Stoklasa the administrator of the Kratochvile Castle. Although with no aristocratic background, he is a man of fortune and is trying to buy the castle. To impress his neighbors and the local politicians he invites them to a great hunting party. Uninvited comes a man who claims to be Duke Alexej. Stoklasa believes him to be a hustler. This hustler, however, manages to charm all the women before he leaves.

In this Czech political allegory-cum-sci-fi adventure, ten teens from different schools find themselves chosen to take part in a special skiing workshop in the mountains. On the day of the seminar, eleven young people, each bearing an invitation, arrive. A massive avalanche occurs and the ski-lodge is cut off from outside contact. Unfortunately, food supplies are limited and the three instructors strongly advise that the youths work together to make do or choose someone to leave. Time passes and soon the kids learn that their “teachers” are not what they seem to be.

Dorota, a bad woman married the miller, out of sheer greed drives him to death. She then took the mill away from his son Peter and threw him out of the hime. Lucifer, who is known to rule in hell, sends out the devil Janek. He is supposed to fetch Dorota because the measure of her earthly sins is overflowing. But the devil himself can not handle this evil woman and flees to the military. There he meets Peter. By joining forces, they finally succeed in transporting the wicked Dorota to hell. Since then hell is hell. But for Peter, who is suddenly in possession of a magic mantle, begins a nice time, because strangely, the prince shows great interest in him.

Otik é um jovem deficiente mental, numa comunidade de aldeia unida. De temperamento doce, Otik trabalha como assistente de camião com Mr. Pavek, seu colega mais velho e vizinho de espírito prático. A família de Pavek cuida de Otik, cujos pais estão mortos. No entanto, os dois colegas de trabalho entram em desacordo devido à incapacidade de Otik para executar até mesmo as tarefas mais simples. Pavek exige que Otik seja transferido para ajudar um outro motorista, que dá-se o caso de ser um homem colérico e desconfiado chamado Turek (Turco em checo). Ao invés de trabalhar com Turek, Otik decide aceitar uma oferta de emprego em Praga, mas descobre que ele não encaixa na vida da cidade. Depois de descobrir que a transferência de Otik para Praga era um truque de um político desonesto para obter um acordo sobre a casa grande herdada por Otik, Pavek concorda em dar a Otik uma segunda oportunidade e recuperá-lo da cidade para retomar o seu trabalho em conjunto.

Carefree young nurse Marta learns upon her husband's death that he was involved in all manner of criminal activity, which puts her life in danger.

Francin, manager of a small-town brewery, has a charming wife whose abundant blonde locks are an adornment to the town. Maryska looks ethereal but loves meat and beer, while Francin is an ascetic. The strict members of the brewery board of directors come to audit the accounts, but are diverted from concentrating on Francin's detailed reports by Maryska, who has organized a pig-killing feast and is ably assisting the butcher. When she invites the old curmudgeons on the board to enjoy the fresh pork, they are too happy to agree. Francin doesn't know whether he is going to get a permanent contract. To make things worse his brother Pepin - eccentric, noisy and garrulous - turns up on an indefinite visit.

In an unusual, apolitical approach, director Jaromil Jires has fashioned a standard drama that features an older lawyer with failing health who goes to practice in the countryside. His series of odd court cases reveals more about the human condition than about law. In one of these litigations a wayward nephew has cheated his elderly aunt out of her savings. In court, the nephew insists the money was a gift, but his aunt explains she only gave him the money as a loan. Although the lawyer technically wins the case, everything of value seems lost in the meantime. His services are paid for in rabbits because the aunt has no currency, and in the end, the nephew cons his aunt into parting with her savings anyway. Other cases expose similar types of petty corruption.

Returning home to Prague, the magician Pasparte, an owner of a circus caravan, meets his dying colleague who entrusts his beautiful daughter Aloisie to his care. In Prague they all take up their lodgings at the house At Blue Fish in which they intend to arrange the programs. The firm is owned by widow Evzenie with whom Pasparte shares flat and bed. Evzenie is jealous of Aloisie therefore Pasparte sends Aloisie as a housewife to the single man Jakub Kolenatý who earns his living by photographing and wants to record the revived pictures of Prague. Pasparte wants to found in Prague the first permanent Czech movie theatre in which there would be projected also the original Czech films.

The Lavicka's, a Czech family from the city, rents a house in the country with the option to buy. However, old Mr Komarek seems reluctant to sell the house as they agreed.

This feature film based on the events of 1938 is a chronicle of the futile efforts of the Czechoslovak president Edvard Benes (Jirí Pleskot), politicians and ordinary citizens, to save the independence and the territorial integrity of the state from the advance of Hitler's Germany. On the 29th of March 1938 the leader of the Sudeten Germans Henlein (Werner Ehrlicher) has a meeting with Hitler (Gunnar Möller). Hitler orders him to intensify pressure on the Czechoslovak government. On the 24th of April in Carlsbad, the Sudetendeutsche Partei (Sudeten German Party) decides upon eight demands that are unacceptable to the Czechoslovak President, since they would ultimately lead to the break-up of the Republic. Benes still shows a certain willingness to negotiate, and Henlein resents this. The Germans are determined to make further negotiations impossible through incidents and violence.

Kinoautomat was the world's first interactive movie, conceived by Radúz Činčera for the Czechoslovak Pavilion at Expo '67 in Montreal. At nine points during the film the action stops, and a moderator appears on stage to ask the audience to choose between two scenes; following an audience vote, the chosen scene is played.

Three detective stories, three different views of life and death... Collection of three horror short stories.

A verger, who likes to dress as a priest, is invited, by one of the villagers, to be the pastor at a vacant church. The atheist teacher resents the pastor, and tries to embarrass him in various ways, including being caught with the local girl, Majka.

Antonin de meia-idade e seus amigos, o major, agora aposentado, e o cónego, estão no rio, a nadar e filosofar. Em seguida, começa a chover. Apenas parece ser aquele tipo de verão. Antonin gere os banhos e natação com a sua opulenta esposa, Katherine... Um homem aparece com a sua caravana puxada por cavalos. Estende uma trave listrada para o outro lado do rio e caminha. Com um pino e um truque de mágica. Ernie o Ilusionista convida a todos para a performance daquela noite... Ernie é um equilibrista de apenas modesta habilidade, mas com uma assistente magra e bonita, Anna. Antonin fala com ela. Os dois passam a noite no balneário junto ao rio, Antonin a massajar os pés dela durante toda a noite. Katherine decide mudar-se para a caravana com Ernie. Mas agora o major e até mesmo o cónego sentem a atratividade de Anna ...

Na fábula surreal de Jan Němec, um piquenique é grosseiramente transformado numa lição de hierarquia política quando um punhado de figuras de autoridade misteriosa aparecem. Esta alegoria sobre opressão e conformidade foi banida no país de origem, mas tornou-se um sucesso internacional depois de estrear no Festival de Cinema de Nova York.

Numa pequena cidade ainda ocupada pelos alemães enquanto a maré da Segunda Guerra Mundial está se voltando para os Aliados, o aprendiz de despachante de trens Milos não se importa com a guerra. Em vez disso, ele está obcecado por ter sua primeira experiência sexual. Apesar dos favores do chefe maquinista Masa, Milos não tem sorte. Sua busca o leva a uma combatente da Resistência que, de passagem, o recruta para a causa. Quando Milos finalmente encontra o amor, o perigo da guerra se aproxima. (e 16 - Estimado 16 Anos)

Documentary about the film academy in Prague and the Czech Film in 1965.

Oldrich is the runt of his village, beaten by his father, bullied by the other boys. But he has imagination of his side, and a wiry toughness they can’t defeat. The village is in turmoil, because the Nazi occupiers have just retreated and the Red Army is advancing. Oldrich dodges amid the mayhem and panic, taking his share of blows but always managing to stay one step ahead. Beautifully shot and darkly ironic, Karel Kachyna’s forgotten masterpiece jumbles reality, memory and fantasy to capture the intensity and confusion of childhood in a war zone.

A câmera subjetiva encontra liberdade e alegria em meio à rígida conformidade da vida em um internato comunitário de fábrica na Tchecoslováquia dos anos 60.

The young Marta has made a break in her medical education to fully invest in her career as a model. We follow her for a day in her life, almost completely without hearing her voice. It is seldom that Marta gets the space to speak, instead she is mostly subject to the voice of others.

A student work by Jiří Menzel, filmed during his second year at the FAMU film school. Views of old Prague and its tenement buildings, symbolizing the obsolete past, alternate with shots of construction sites for new prefabricated apartment buildings. In spite of certain unavoidable propagandistic overtones added by the director, it is notable as the beginning of his search for a “dramaturgy of colors.”