CERN, or The Factory for the Absolute

Human action is often influenced by the desire for knowledge. This desire is in itself a positive impulse and could be said to be the basis of all progress. Let's move this statement to the ground of scientific research at CERN, and see if it applies here - and then test the common experience that human stupidity permeates every social stratum and, in the case of the elites, is a potential threat.

Moravian Hellas

Karel Vachek’s graduate film offers us a documentary essay which is both a light-hearted and aggressive little piece and also a parody of investigative film journalism. The Strážnice folk festival, backed by the cultural Party apparatus of the time, for years had little to commend itself to authentic folklore. In the film the event assumes the form of a bizarre stage spectacle with almost surrealistic elements that Vachek reinforces with unconventional approaches (commentary appearing as titles on screen, singing, declamations into the camera, feature etudes, the fusion of news coverage and fiction). The result is a stirring film collage depicting various characters, from crowd-pleasers, Easter egg decorators, kitsch artists and peddlers, to museologists and local residents, all of whom come up against the eccentric "identical” twin reporters Karel and Jan Saudek and a bored actress who appears as an extra. Using their special blend of irony and wit, they present us with the sad truth.

The Shadow over Prague

The Nazis decided to awaken the dark forces of the Old Prague legends in order to use (and abuse) them to destroy the world. The only one who can stop them is Perak.

Honey Bunny Duracell

A vivid encounter with former three time Czech National Boxing Champion. Experience the rise and fall in the career of a female fighter.

Bacchus

Alex, a young woman bored with modern life, is lured by Bacchus into a colorful and mysterious world to explore her deepest desires.

77777

A Window Means Longing

It’s a story of a girl dreaming of a fuller life. With the help of a kind stranger, she has to overcome her fears. Her trepidations may appear absurd but are far more serious in their nature.

A Little Love

Through interspersed conversation and prose, this experimental documentary follows a poet and a neuroscientist as they explore the definition of love, what it means, and why it matters.

The Enchanted Bell

After a magic bell from Tibet is stolen, a little girl and an elephant undertake a dangerous journey to bring the bell home.

Garden Party

In a deserted rich house, a couple of amphibians explore their surroundings and follow their primal instincts.

The Limited Bird

John's first independent work from 1989. Won Best of Fest Shorts at the Cinequest Film Festival, CA. The film is comprised of highly rendered drawings with very little moving parts to tell a complex story of relationships "gone to the birds".

Ľudia a telefon

Mi Vida Me Pasa

Arturo Urbiola, independent singer/songwriter, talks about the influence music has had on his life, it's impact, and what's in store for his artistic career after becoming a father.

The Mumps

In the diary of a six-year-old girl, Marie, we learn what important things happened during one holiday month before she started first grade and how she perceived the changes in her family.

Night on the Town

In a run-down hotel for transients, a man sleeps fitfully in bed. He rises to use the toilet down the hall, and while he's there, a burglar enters his room. He returns to find the burglar leaving through the window; the burglar falls to the street beneath. The man leaves the hotel and walks past the fallen burglar to a seedy bar, where he drinks too much and has a hedonistic vision of sex and death. He awakens on the bar-room floor and drags himself out. Is this the end for him?

ELFilm

A minimalist portrait of ultimate love.

Test

Mashkin kills Koshkin

The puppet film Mashkin Killed Koshkin, based on the short story of the same name by Daniil Kharms, is a small, absurd story of two heroes who personify the essence of the so-called "Russian soul".

A Box of Film

A film about filmmaking.

Two Elephants