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FESTIVALS / AWARDS Czech Republic

The Painted Bird soars at the Czech Lion Awards

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- The black-and-white World War II drama netted eight accolades while also earning its producer, writer and director, Václav Marhoul, the Award for Extraordinary Audiovisual Achievement

The Painted Bird soars at the Czech Lion Awards
The Painted Bird director Václav Marhoul with one of his Czech Lions (© Lukáš Oujeský)

Three fiction features defined 2019 in Czech cinema, at least judging by the laureates of domestic awards, each one of them representing a different style and form of filmmaking. Ondřej Provazník and Martin Dušek’s revenge road-dramedy Old-Timers [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Martin Dušek, Ondřej Provaz…
film profile
]
falls into the category of daring arthouse cinema, the absurd chamber comedy Owners [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
by Jiří Havelka represents intelligent domestic mainstream comedy, while The Painted Bird [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Václav Marhoul
film profile
]
by Václav Marhoul proved to be an ambitious and internationally acclaimed oeuvre. All three movies were frontrunners in the Czech Film Critics’ Awards as well as the annual Czech Lion ceremony, with the domestic film critics eventually favouring Old-Timers (see the news).

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The result of the annual Czech Lion Awards gala, organised by the Czech Film and Television Academy (CFTA), was predictable, at least as far as Best Film was concerned, as usually, the accolade goes to the film nominated by the CFTA for the Oscars race (see the news). Indeed, the drama following a young boy through the abuse and trauma of a World War II-era wasteland netted eight awards, including Best Film, Best Director and Best Cinematography. Furthermore, Marhoul, the mastermind behind the provocative adaption of Jerzy Kosinski’s controversial novel, who served as the producer, writer and director of The Painted Bird, took home the Award for Extraordinary Audiovisual Achievement, thus cementing the film’s dominance. The feature’s success paves the way for Marhoul’s English-language debut, McCarthy, a biopic of former US senator Joseph McCarthy, outside the Czech Republic.

The opinions of the domestic critics and academy members did not differ that significantly. Both organisations deemed Jiří Havelka’s feature debut, Owners, worthy of Best Screenplay, and his leading and supporting actresses Tereza Ramba and Klára Melíšková netted accolades for their performances (seven actors from the Owners cast were in the running for various gongs). Meanwhile, Jiří Schmitzer’s performance in the lead role of Old-Timers was also acknowledged. Moreover, the academy members awarded Schmitzer’s co-star and the “partner in crime” in the film, Ladislav Mrkvička, with the accolade for Best Supporting Actor. Director Martin Mareček returned to the stage to receive the Best Documentary Award for his documentary road movie Over the Hills [+see also:
trailer
interview: Martin Mareček
film profile
]
after winning in the same category during the Czech Film Critics’ Awards gala. Besides Václav Marhoul, another important winner was Jaromír Kallista, the long-term producer of Jan Švankmajer’s films and the subject of the recent documentary Athanor – The Alchemical Furnace [+see also:
trailer
interview: Adam Oľha
film profile
]
, who received the Honorary Award for Extraordinary Contribution to Czech Cinema.

The Czech Film and Television Academy also recognised the best television projects. Viktor Tauš’s take on quality Czech TV, the crime miniseries Monsters of the Shore, combining crime, psychological family drama and horror, earned him the Best Television Film or Miniseries Award. Finally, the TV sensation Most!, a comedy by Jan Prušinovský probing bigotry and xenophobia, broke television viewer and online streaming records, and won the prize in the category of Best Television Drama Series.

Here is the complete list of Czech Lion winners:

Best Film
The Painted Bird [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Václav Marhoul
film profile
]
– Václav Marhoul (Czech Republic/Slovakia/Ukraine)

Best Documentary
Over the Hills [+see also:
trailer
interview: Martin Mareček
film profile
]
– Martin Mareček

Best Director
Václav Marhoul - The Painted Bird

Best Actress
Tereza Ramba - Owners [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
(Czech Republic/Slovakia)

Best Actor
Jiří Schmitzer - Old-Timers [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Martin Dušek, Ondřej Provaz…
film profile
]
(Czech Republic/Slovakia)

Best Supporting Actress
Klára Melíšková - Owners

Best Supporting Actor
Ladislav Mrkvička - Old-Timers

Best Screenplay
Jiří Havelka - Owners

Best Cinematography
Vladimír Smutný - The Painted Bird

Best Editing
Luděk Hudec - The Painted Bird

Best Sound
Pavel Rejholec - The Painted Bird

Best Music
Ivan Acher, Michal Novinski - The Watchmaker’s Apprentice (Czech Republic/Slovakia)

Best Stage Design
Jan Vlasák - The Painted Bird

Best Costume Design
Helena Rovná - The Painted Bird

Best Make-up and Hairstyling
Ivo Strangmüller - The Painted Bird

Best Television Film or Minsieries
Monsters of the Shore - Viktor Tauš

Best Television Drama Series
Most! - Jan Prušinovský

Extraordinary Audiovisual Achievement
Václav Marhoul - The Painted Bird

Honorary Award for Extraordinary Contribution to Czech Cinema
Jaromír Kallista

Non-statutory awards

Magnesia Award for Best Student Film
Daughter – Daria Kashcheeva

Best Film Poster
The Painted Bird – Roman Mrázek

Film Fans’ Award
Women on the Run [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
– Martin Horský

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