Hottest premieres and exclusive previews at Finále
Come and enjoy new films and series! Between 26 September and 1 October, the Festival will present exclusive premieres and previews in the First Catch, ZOOM and German Cinema sections, as well as in the Documentary, Student, and Feature fiction or animation competition sections. But the programme doesn’t end with brand-new films – you can also look forward to meetings with filmmakers, special screenings, inspiring debates, and exploring international cinema. Which highlights of this year’s programme will you want to see?
“Finále Festival is one of the most important cultural events in our city. Every year, it presents the best of Czech film and television production and brings renowned filmmakers and experts to Pilsen. Supporting the Festival is an investment in the cultural life and prestige of our city. I believe this year’s edition will once again offer audiences powerful film experiences and opportunities for inspiring encounters,” said Eliška Bartáková, Councillor of the City of Pilsen for Culture and Heritage Conservation.
Competition films in premieres and previews
9 feature-length fiction or animated films, 9 documentaries, 13 television and internet projects, and 12 student shorts will compete for the Golden Kingfisher award in competition sections judged by international juries, including several premieres and previews:
The animated puppet film, Tales from the Magic Garden, inspired by the stories of Arnošt Goldflam and previously screened at Berlinale and Annecy, will have its Czech preview at Finále Plzeň. The same goes for the feature debut, Promise, I’ll Be Fine, by Katarína Gramatová, portraying an adolescent boy growing up in a remote Slovak village, cast entirely with local non-professional actors. Just days after its world premiere at the prestigious Venice Film Festival, Tereza Nvotová’s Father will also enter the competition.
The Czech premiere includes Olga Gibelinda’s documentary, Queens of Joy, about the lives of three drag queens in war-torn Kyiv, and the preview of Volver a Volver, following four Venezuelans of Czech descent returning to their ancestors’ homeland, known only from their grandfather’s stories. The student shorts, Savagery and First Patrol, will also have their world premieres.
First Catch
The First Catch section will present brand-new films – fresh premieres and previews that come directly from the editing room and are awaiting cinema distribution or television release. Audiences can expect gripping dramas, family movies, stories based on real events, and a documentary from the world of ice hockey.
Festivalgoers can also watch a deeply emotional drama, Mom, written by Marek Epstein and directed by Jiří Strach, starring Elizaveta Maximová and Dana Syslová, before its TV broadcast. The festival will close with the world premiere of Matěj Pichler’s star-studded dark comedy, Side Effects. Jan Hřebejk’s series The Fall of the House of Koller, based on Natálie Kocábová’s novel and starring David Matásek, Božidara Turzonovová, and Petra Hřebíčková, will have its preview.
Other eagerly awaited series, which we will screen the first episodes of at the Festival, include: The Offspring-Ants, a drama directed by Michal Blaško starring Aňa Geislerová and Stanislav Majer; the second season of the mini-series, The Markovic Method: Straka, starring Petr Lněnička; the mini-series, Monyová, starring Tereza Ramba; and Marek Najbrt’s Štěstíčku naproti starring Václav Neužil. The documentary, Respect Her Game, by Tereza Vejvodová and Veronika Donutková about the women’s national hockey team, will be screened in a preview, and the co-production crime drama, Shadow of Victory, by Norwegian director Bård Breien will have its Czech premiere. Music for the film was composed by Slovak duo, Michal Novinski (In the Shadow; Living Large) and Jonatán Pastirčák (Arved; Our Lovely Pig Slaughter), with costumes by Czech costume designer, Michaela Horáčková Hořejší.
Premieres also include family films: The Bugaboo by Tomáš Pavlíček and Kateřina Karhánková; fairy-tale Sugar Candy by Pavel Jandourek starring Tereza Ramba; poetic Fichtelberg by Šimon Koudela; and Hurvínek. Fantasy fans will enjoy the screening of the first two episodes of the mini-series, Alchemist Academy.
Women and Film
The Women and Film section, founded in cooperation with the Girls in Film platform, features two programme blocks. Actress Elizaveta Maximová has chosen director Daria Kashcheeva as her inspirational personality. On Saturday, 27 September at 5 p.m. in Jonáš Hall, you can see them together at the screening of five of Daria’s films. Alongside her internationally acclaimed works, Daughter and Electra, three of her earlier student shorts - Oasis; In a Dumpster; and Prague: A Foreigners’ Perspective - will also be shown. The screening will be followed by a debate – a live podcast by Heroine magazine.
The second block features set decorator Beatrice Brentnerová, nominated for an Oscar this year for her work on Nosferatu (2024). She will personally introduce the screening of Nosferatu on Sunday, 28 September at 7 p.m. at the House of Music, followed by a debate about her work on the film.
ZOOM
This year, the ZOOM section heads west – to Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. Three neighbouring countries, three distinct film cultures, and one common denominator: original world perspectives. Three feature films will be presented: the Luxembourg documentary, The Invitation, an intimate African road movie filmed after the death of one of its authors; a Belgian-Dutch drama, When It Melts, about confronting demons of the past, awarded at Sundance; and a gently melancholic comedy, Three Days of Fish, which won acting awards for its lead duo at Karlovy Vary.
The Czech premiere will also include a block of Belgian short films. Maruška, or the Story of a Real Fake Raspberry in Winter, by Max Bédrune and Juliette Léonard blends fairy-tale with modern phenomena from ASMR to virtual reality. The Bodies We Live In by Mady Berrenger and Lucie Onrubia-Muro explores the boundary between private and public space through women’s roller derby. A graduate film, Among the Beasts, by Luchina Paparella raises the question of who the real “monster” is – humans or animals. In The Other by Florent Thys, eighteen-year-old Mathias meets his future self to confront his identity and anxieties. Finally, Raphaël Venayre’s Family Party shows how even during the happiest moments, a childhood can end for good.
German Cinema
The German Cinema section regularly presents outstanding work by our western neighbours. This year, the selection includes feature and short films by directors scoring points both at home and abroad, presented in collaboration with the Cottbus Film Festival. The programme features the Oscar-nominated reconstruction of TV coverage of the terrorist attack at the Munich 1972 Olympics, September 5; a documentary about children growing up in foster care, The Family Approach; and a historical drama, From Hilde, With Love, about young people involved in the anti-Nazi resistance, screened in Berlinale’s main competition section.
Czech premieres will also include the feature film Vena and short films Nine Days in August; At Home I Feel Like Leaving; and Asches.
Special Feature
On 28 September at 3:30 p.m. in the Small Hall of Měšťanská Beseda, the Festival will offer a unique opportunity to meet American screenwriter, Eric Kaplan, a member of this year’s TV and Internet Production Competition jury, known for Futurama and The Big Bang Theory. In a talk hosted by Tomáš Baldýnský, Kaplan will present the pilot of his new animated sci-fi series, Guys Next Door – a dark comedy about friends longing for a quiet life who get entangled in espionage, biohacking, and global conspiracies.
“I am delighted that American screenwriter Eric Kaplan, author of The Big Bang Theory and Futurama, will sit on this year’s Finále jury. These shows are among the favourites of our IT employees. Kaplan’s participation is also proof that the prestige of Finále Plzeň continues to grow, which makes us even happier,” said Marek Cihlář, Product Development Director at Eurosoftware.
As part of Special Feature section, the Festival will also present the oldest version of the vampire horror, Nosferatu, in cooperation with Kino NANĚMO, as well as short films by students of the Ladislav Sutnar Faculty of Design and Art of the University of West Bohemia in Pilsen, with whom the Festival has long-term cooperation.