Zuzana Kirchnerová, the winner of Cannes’s Cinéfondation with Baba (in 2009), was granted EUR 400 000 for production of her carefully prepared feature debut project Caravan, produced by Dagmar Sedláčková of MasterFilm. Czech-Slovak-Italian co-production drama tells a story about a mother and her mentally handicapped son, who together set out on a long journey away from everyday worries. The project, which received Torino Film Lab Production Award (EUR 40 000) last fall, was also supported by the Czech Film Fund for development in 2015.

Other alumni of Cinéfondation (2012), Michal Hogenauer (A Certain Kind of Silence, 2019) took part earlier this year in the Les Arcs Co-production Village with his project Last One Turns of the Light, and now he has received EUR 242 000 for production of another promising film, There Is Peace in the Crowns of Trees. Drama about a vague threat hidden somewhere beneath the surface of Western culture is written by duo Marek Šindelka and celebrated auteur Václav Kadrnka (Little Crusader, 2017), whose company Sirius Film stands behind the production.

The highest amount, EUR 461 500, in this call went to Dustzone. Adaptation of a popular children’s book by Vojtěch Matocha is directed by Štěpán Fok Vodrážka and produced by Vratislav Šlajer of Bionaut. The Czech Film Fund supported the participant of last year’s Kids Kino Lab programme already for development in 2019.

MasterFilm’s Tomáš Michálek is working with director Tomáš Klein, another alumni of Cinéfondation, on his debut film A Sensitive Man. Adventurous drama, co-produced by Slovak and Romanian partners, deals with children’s ideals and the difficult period of adolescence. For production, the film received the amount of EUR 384 600 and it was also granted development support two years ago.

Oscar-winning director Jan Svěrák (Kolya, 1997) prepares an adaptation of his father’s (Zdeněk Svěrák) story Bethlehem Light, which focuses on human existence, love, faith and a little bit of magic. Czech-Polish co-production with partners also from other countries was supported with EUR 270 000.

How will behave passengers of uncontrolled train which suddenly stops in the middle of nowhere? Jiří Havelka answers that question in his upcoming comedy The Train, produced by Marek Jeníček of Elekta Production. Second film of the successful theater director, who attracted Czech viewers and critics with his fiction debut Owners (2019), was granted EUR 270 000.

Another theater director who tends toward film comedy, Miroslav Krobot (Nowhere in Moravia, 2014), will direct Snajdr, a romcom about an actor from the capital city who comes to Moravia to direct his theatre play performed in a cultural facility. Producers Ondřej Zima and Silive Michajlova of Evolution Films received funding for the project of EUR 242 000.

Last but not least, director Adam Sedlák (Domestique, KVIFF Competition, 2018) and producer Jakub Jíra join forces again to make a film about Czech hip-hop and rap community, called Banger. The Czech Film Fund supported their project with EUR 192 000.