The Czech lions were ruled by Zátopek, the ceremonial evening ruled Ukraine
Updates: 06.03.2022 00:08
Released: 05.03.2022, 22:31
Prague – The most successful film of the 29th annual film awards of the Czech Film and Television Academy (CFTA) Czech Lion became the film Zátopek by director David Ondříček. Out of 13 nominations, he won eight awards, including the one for best film, best director and best actor in the lead male role for Václav Neužil. Ivo Špalj won the award for lifetime contribution to Czech cinema from Saturday evening. The second most successful was the film Occupation with three awards. The handover was in the spirit of supporting Ukraine’s war.
Zátopek, who tells the story of a famous Czechoslovak athlete, won awards in the categories of best film, best actor in the lead role, direction, scenography, masks, editing, camera and sound. Academics have previously nominated the film for an Oscar competition in the category of foreign language films, but they were not shortlisted. The second most successful film, Occupation, dealing with the period of normalization, today won awards for screenplay for Marek Šindelka and Vojtěch Mašek, supporting actress Antonia Formanová and for music for La Petite Sonja and Hanka J. Manchini.
Today, sound master Ivo Špalj, who is signed by hundreds of films as a sound director, received the Czech Lion Award for extraordinary contribution to Czech cinematography. He made a film sound for almost sixty years and collaborated, for example, with Laterna magika or with director Jan Švankmajer.
Pavla Gajdošíková won the Czech Lion for Best Actress in a Leading Role for her film Errors, in which she portrayed a woman who caught up with the past in the form of acting in a porn film. Oldřich Kaiser won the award for male acting in a supporting role for the film Man with Rabbit Ears. The best documentary was the film Unit of Intensive Life about doctors who care for the terminally ill. The Czech lion for the best animated film went to the children’s film Mouse Belongs to Heaven.
The award for the best television film went to the miniseries of Božena Czech Television, which tells the story of the writer Božena Němcová. In the category of television series, the Defender also succeeded in the production of Czech Television, which follows the story of the school ombudsman and addresses issues in education. Diana Cam Van Nguyen received the awards for student and short film in both cases for the film Dear Dad, which tells the story of finding the author’s path to her father.
Tonight, the CFTA dedicated the spread of war-torn Ukraine. The awards and actors who presented the awards often reminded the war situation with emotion and expressed support for the Ukrainians. The Rudolfinum building was decorated with the Ukrainian flag, and the traditional red carpet was missing from the staircase. Many guests pinned yellow-blue ribbons or badges to their clothing. Ukrainian Ambassador Yevhen Perebyjnis also spoke at the Rudolfinum, urging those present to cut off Czech film relations and exclude it from festivals.
During the live broadcast of Czech Television, they were able to contribute through the donor DMS to the account of People in Need. According to the evening’s moderator Jiří Havelka, 5.6 million crowns were collected in this way.