Czech-Irish-Polish-Slovak film Charlatan, directed by international aclaimed Polish author Agnieszka Holland, tells a story about an almost forgotten Czech healer, and an unusual medicine man, Jan Mikolášek who cured millions even as he suffered under both Nazi and Communist rule. The film was supported by the Czech Film Fund in both development and production stages, and is a co-production between Czech Republic (producers Šárka Cimbalová and Kevan Van Thompson from Marlene Film Production) with Ireland (Mike Downey from Film & Music Entertainment), Poland (Klaudia Śmieja-Rostworowska from Madants) and Slovakia (Furia films, Radio and Television Slovakia). Further co-producers are Czech Television and Barrandov Studio.

The other film seeking partners at Venice Gap-Financing Market is a forthcoming animated feature My Sunny Maad, supported by the Czech Film Fund in both development and production stages. Based on a book by Iva Procházková (Freshta), directed by Michaela Pavlátová and produced by Petr Oukropec, Kateřina Černá from Negativ (CZ) and Ron Dyens from Sacrebleue Productions (FR) in co-production with BFilm (SK), and Czech Television (CZ), the film tells the story of a Czech Woman Helena (now Herra) who falls in love with an Afghan man Nazir and has no idea about the life that awaits her in post-Taliban Afghanistan, nor about the family she is about to join.

Several Czech films were selected for the Venice Gap-Financing Market in the recent years. Irena Pavlásková’s The Prague Orgy and Solo by Artemio Benki were presented in Venice last year, the documentary When the War Comes and the upcoming Mira Fornay’s feature Cook, F**k, Kill in 2017.

Last but not least, during the workshop of Biennale College Cinema VR, Czech-German co-production How Is the Water (directed by Ninja Müller and produced by Go 360 s.r.o), about global menaces which change our oceans, will be introduced along with 7 other projects.