The winners of this year's Pavel Koutecký Prize were nominated by following jury members: Ivan Zachariáš, director and bearer of the Czech Film Critics Prize for his series Wasteland, moderator Kazma and director Markus Krug, both authors of the internet program One Man Show, the singer and journalist Emma Smetana, the famous jewellery designer Janja Prokić and the organic farmer Daniel Pitek.

The 12th edition of Pavel Koutecký Prize will showcase the films in the cities of Ústí nad Labem (CZ) and Dresden (DE). The newly established international documentary film festival ELBE DOCK 2018, which originated from the long tradition of the Pavel Koutecký Prize, found its place right in these both cities.

The Russian Job (d. Petr Horký)
An automobile factory that was once the biggest and best of its kind in the former Soviet Union has turned into a financial nightmare. A Swedish manager with a lifetime of experience is expected to return it to prosperity in a big way. They meet in the city of Tolyatti, deep in the heart of Russia. And neither is willing to give in. The Russian Job is a story of great plans and even greater absurdity told in beautifully crafted images. Say the jurors: "The story offers several parallel lines which are gradually evolving to the intimacy of the main protagonist, Bo Inge Andersson, and his woman-partner with whom he has been bringing closer together just trying to save a giant car manufacturer."

Úhorná (d. Matěj Šmelko)
In the short category, among three nominated submitters, won the Matěj Šmelek’s graduate‘s work from the Miroslav Ondříček Film Academy in Písek. A poetically tuned sociology probe into the souls of inhabitants of the Slovak village of Úhorná, who while having almost nothing left kept their faith in life. “Úhorná is an interesting, original and cultivated picture of the earthy life of the inhabitants in a Slovak village. It is a joy to see a documentary that feature old good Špáta’s honesty and poetics," add the jurors.

Nothing Like Before (d. Klára Tasovská, Lukáš Kokeš)
They are 19 years old, lead normal teenage lives, and attend the same school in a small Czech border town. The film portrays Teo, Renata, Anicka, and Nikola at a time when looming adulthood is beginning to cast an anxious shadow over their carefree high school existence. Each of them faces a momentous challenge whose outcome will change their life forever. And it's not only about leaving exams. Who will succeed, who will fail, and who will truly come of age? "We appreciate the extraordinarily engaging image, the cinematographic sensitivity in working with characters, the unusually generous time investment in filming, and especially the themes that the document has managed to grasp with the overwhelming empathy. We perceive them as crucial in any reflection on the current state of our country and its morals," say the jurors of the 12th Pavel Koutecký Prize.

The first part of the festival took place last weekend (16 - 20 May) in the town of Ústí nad Labem (CZE), the second part of the program will be held in Dresden (GER) on May 24-26. The winners of Pavel Koutecký Prize will also be presented in Prague as part of the Echoes Festival (June 14, from 9:00 p.m. in Containall – Stalin, and June 17, at the same time in Containall – Stromovka). Another presentation will be held in Pilsen (June 12-14, at 8:00 p.m. at the Družba University Café), and in Polička (June 8, from 9:00 p.m. in the Cinema Summer Cinema, Pontopolis Center).

More about the festival (in German) here.