“They grew up in an environment already closely connected with the international film scene, where access to international content and knowledge was possible,” says Santrochova, who is also president of the European Film Promotion network. Marketa Santrochova has been head of the Czech Film Center since 2013, and identifies “a more diverse generation of young filmmakers, producers and actors” emerging from the country united by three points – “internationality, awareness and support.” This year’s Karlovy Vary International Film Festival has screened 11 new Czech features, including world premieres of Matej Chlupacek’s We Have Never Been Modern and Tomas Klein’s A Sensitive Person in the Crystal Globe competition and Robert Hloz’s buzzy sci-fi Restore Point as a special screening. A new wave of filmmakers is looking to change that.
The Czech Republic is a popular location for international shoots but homegrown Czech titles have struggled to break out internationally in the past 10 years. Source: LaK Produkce / Subject’s own / XYZ FilmsĮliska Krenkova, Matej Chlupacek, ‘Restore Point’