Tell Me Something About Yourself: Ripening of Evil - Milan

Tell Me Something About Yourself - René

1992

René has been in prison since he was 16. He is sick of life and doesn’t care about his parents (just as René’s parents never cared about him when he was a child); he doesn’t even know how many more children they had. After the general amnesty, René just hangs around, not satisfied in any job, and with his younger brother he starts stealing. In no time he is back in prison, this time joined by his brother who is still a youth. History repeats itself and René’s life philosophy seems to be confirmed: You enjoy your freedom for a while, then go to prison and the same thing happens all over again.

Tell Me Something About Yourself - Martin

1994

"The whole film talks about the time when I was first locked up, from sixteen till now, I’m 22 now, and during that whole time I was out maybe five months, and I’ve really had it by now. It’s also about why I’d given my life to Jesus Christ and then failed that Jesus in me because I was tempted by earthly pleasures; and it’s also about how every time I’m ready to start a new life, I get locked up again because it’s always too late. It’s just too late. That’s the greatest shame and that’s what it’s about..."

Anny

2021

Anny follows the life of the titular, intriguing character for 16 years, from 1996 up until 2012. Living in the Czech Republic, Anny is a 46-year-old woman whose day-to-day life has consisted of several different occupations, from a bathroom attendant and a doorman, to occasional sex work. Her outlook on her jobs is fairly simple, you have to do the work if you want to eat, spoil your grandkids, or buy yourself new clothes.

René

2008

An intimate portrait of a man on the edge of society, filmed over the course of twenty years.

Mallory

2015

Life hasn't been easy on Mallory but after the birth of her son she tries desperately to kick her drug habit, and to stop living on the street. She wants to turn her back on her dark past and help those she knows best - people on the fringes of society.

Katka

2010

“You bet on someone in the beginning of the process and then you wait and see what life does with them.” This is how Czech director Helena Trestikova explains her long-term documentaries. Following on from the European Film Academy Award winning RENE (2008), Trestikova brings us KATKA – 14 years in the life of a drug addict. KATKA is an extraordinarily raw and uncensored character portrait of a troubled young woman living on the edge of human existence, desperately searching for love and salvation. Will she find it in the rehab? Will she find it in the arms of the man she loves? Or in the first cry of her long-desired baby? Tagging along with her through the back streets and squalors of Prague, Trestikova gets deep under the skin of a person most of us would cross the road to avoid, and shows us Katka’s profoundly human face. You might be angry with Katka, or your heart may go out to her. One thing is certain – you will never forget her.

Ten Years in the Life of a Young Man

1999

An observational documentary about Jakub Špalek and all his activities, victories and losses in the years 1989 to 1999.

Tell Me Something About Yourself - Láda

1994

Lada is a product of "educational“ or "corrective“ institutions. Not only is he not educated or corrected, he simply does not understand anything about life. He solves his problems in his own way – by swallowing sharp objects.

René – The Prisoner of Freedom

2022

The Czech criminal René is finding it difficult to go straight. Roaming from job to shelter, from woman to woman, he discovers that living honestly is a lot more difficult than just stealing something every once in a while. In 1989, filmmaker Helena Třeštíková started filming the then 18-year-old delinquent, ultimately resulting in the 2008 film René, which follows his life inside and outside prison. This sequel to that film begins with the premiere of René and the ensuing storm of media attention.

Havel Speaking, Can You Hear Me?

2024

This time-lapse documentary follows the last years of former President Václav Havel's life, creating a multi-layered portrait of a world-famous political icon and important playwright, but also an ordinary man plagued by health problems. Havel allows the filmmakers a glimpse behind the scenes of his life, revealing purely personal moments that present him in previously unrecognised contours. With a sense of humour, he reflects on his political legacy and universal human issues. The central motif is formed by the parallels between Havel's life and the successful play Leaving, which Havel always wanted to direct as a film adaptation.

Hledači pevného bodu

2024

For twelve years, a film crew has been following the lives of four people who appeared in public in November 1989. Musician Michael Kocáb, dissident Jan Ruml, young participant in the National Avenue intervention Kryštof Rímský, and student leader Martin Mejstřík. The period after November opened up new possibilities, opportunities, and chances for everyone. This unique film project captures their search, their wanderings, their resolutions, and their doubts on the path to finding their own place in the turbulent waters of a transforming society.

The Call

1999

A documentary film following several years in the life of Jan Potměšil who has become a very popular actor at an early age, representing the type of a young sporty intellectual. After a serious car crash in 1989, he ended up on a wheelchair. He was 23 years old at the time. After a year of rehabilitation, he returned to the stage. Excelling in “Flowers for Algernon”, he continuously acts in the production in front of sell-out crowds across the country. He also lives his personal life, experiencing new loves and breakups, is engaged in civic affairs and returns to the hospital now and then. The film aims to give a non-pathetic image of a life lived to the full despite adversity.

Eternal Jožo

2023

An untraditional documentary portrait reveals the complicated personality of the Slovak music legend Jožo Ráž, the singer for the pop-rock group Elán. From recordings of everyday situations, playful moments, intimate conversations about God and death, and memories of the past, the director composes a complex image of a man loved by the masses, who, despite all his life successes, feels lonely.

Kašpar

1993

Eero Saarinen: The Architect Who Saw the Future

2016

Best known for designing National Historic Landmarks such as St. Louis’ iconic Gateway Arch and the General Motors Technical Center, Saarinen also designed New York’s TWA Flight Center at John F. Kennedy International Airport, Yale University’s Ingalls Rink and Morse and Ezra Stiles Colleges, Virginia’s Dulles Airport, and modernist pedestal furniture like the Tulip chair.