What you will find in the article:
- Five Czech series featured in the new Czech Killer competition.
- Festival opens with comedy series Oddíl B on September 23.
- Crime drama Hec explores a mystery near the Czech-Polish border.
- Rekord(wo)man tells the story of a 1930s female athlete.
- Miniseries Kamarád addresses child manipulation and societal neglect.
Czech series are enjoying an exceptionally strong season this year. And because Serial Killer has long been following the direction in which television series are evolving, this year the festival has decided to take a closer look at the domestic scene as well. The new Czech Killer competition will feature five series produced by all of the major Czech broadcasters – Czech Television, Oneplay and Prima.
From Most! straight to Oddíl B
The festival will open on Wednesday, 23 September with the comedy series Oddíl B, directed by Jan Prušinovský and written by Petr Kolečko, from Oneplay. The concept draws on stories told by Zdeněk Godla, which he used to entertain the crew while they were filming the legendary Most!
Oddíl B is a section of a prison where people convicted of less serious offences are placed. According to prison counsellor Pruza, it is simply the place where they tend to put the dimwits. Only the inmate Moro, he says, is a real bastard. But when first-time offender David Broulík, also known as the Eminem of Oddíl B, unexpectedly ends up there, he soon begins to learn everything there is to know about this peculiar place. The new series from the Prušinovský–Kolečko duo may be somewhat darker than Most!, but it is funny from the very first moment.
“For many inmates, prison means boredom, staring out of the window and simply getting through the day. For some people, prison is a job. Surprisingly, for many people prison is home, and perhaps even the only functioning family they have,” says Jan Prušinovský, director, writer and producer of Oddíl B.
“Petr Kolečko can be cruel to his characters, while Honza Prušinovský cares about them. That creates great situations in which we suffer along with the characters,” adds Michal Reitler, Director of Development at Nova Group.
The premiere screening will be attended by Jan Prušinovský, Petr Kolečko, Tadeáš Moravec, Zdeněk Godla, Matěj Hádek, Marsell Bendig and other members of the creative team.
More than a secret lies beneath the church ruins
Thursday evening will belong to the lightly mystery-infused crime drama Hec, produced by Czech Television. A strange case brings Captain Alena Kočí, played by Petra Hřebíčková, back to her home region near the Polish border. Human remains are discovered beneath the ruins of a wooden church, and word quickly spreads through the area that a long night of partying by local teenagers has ended in tragedy. Can anything still be saved? And what will the traumatised police officer discover about her own past, which she has always tried to run from? The new Czech series handles genre clichés with sensitivity and relies above all on powerful acting performances.
“I don’t want to see Hec as just another Czech detective series. It is a different kind of story – a major drama set in the distinctive Czech-Polish borderlands, where the landscape is not merely a backdrop but a prominent part of the entire world. We wanted the series to feel authentic and raw, without pretending to be something it isn’t, while at the same time exploring how far we could go in working with neo-Western elements while still keeping it our own, believable and rooted in the place where the story unfolds,” says director and screenwriter Michal Samir.
The premiere screening will be attended by Michal Samir, Petr Uhlík and Milena Steinmasslová, along with other members of the creative team.
On Friday, Serial Killer will premiere another new title from Oneplay – Rekord(wo)man.
The series, starring Petr Uhlík, tells the remarkable story of an athlete who, in the 1930s, while competing as Zdena Koubková, became world champion in the women’s 800 metres and twice set the world record in the event. In order to live his own life truthfully, however, he ultimately chose to give up his sporting career.
“To me, it is one of the most fascinating human stories of the 20th century. The idea that someone would sacrifice their career and fame for the sake of their inner integrity is fascinating and enormously inspiring at the same time. It makes me wonder whether I myself would be willing to make a similar life decision – to lose everything simply to remain true to myself,” says Petr Uhlík of his role.
Rekord(wo)man will be accompanied at its premiere screening by screenwriters Dan and Hana Wlodarczyk, creative producer Klára Follová and actress Andrea Uhlík Berecková.
A friend you would not wish on your child
Saturday evening will belong to Czech Television and the premiere of its new series Kamarád, inspired by a real-life case from an outlying area of present-day Czechia.
When a new pupil joins an elementary-school class after moving to unfamiliar surroundings following his mother’s death, he struggles to form new relationships. One of the teachers, who also leads a youth group, quickly becomes his best friend. The drama shows how easily children can become trapped in manipulative relationships and how dismissive the surrounding society can be towards victims of abuse. At the same time, the miniseries enters the debate surrounding child protection and the so-called children’s certificate.
“Together with screenwriter and director Petr Pylypčuk and dramaturge Tomáš Feřtek, we decided that each episode would focus on a different character, and therefore on a different narrative perspective. With every new episode, we show how this sense of social powerlessness came to be,” says creative producer Kateřina Ondřejková, adding on the subject of ethics: “It was essential for us to find a sensitive and ethically responsible way of handling the subject. From the very beginning, we therefore worked with experts and also devoted considerable attention to working with the child actors. We were looking for a balance between authenticity, dramatic impact and the responsibility we have as creators when dealing with such a sensitive subject.”
The case study of Kamarád will be discussed specifically from an ethical perspective as part of the TV Days conference. “With such a sensitive subject, I don’t think it is enough simply to tell the story. It is also important to talk about how we tell it, where the boundaries of creative licence lie, and what responsibility we have towards the people whose real experiences are reflected in the fiction in some way. That is why it makes a great deal of sense to me that the festival screening of Kamarád is accompanied by a broader discussion about ethics in audiovisual media,” says director and screenwriter Petr Pylypčuk.
The premiere will be presented in person by Kateřina Ondřejková, screenwriter and director Petr Pylypčuk and actress Kateřina Falbrová.
When a father decides to fight
Nor will the festival give visitors much of a chance to catch their breath on Sunday. As part of the closing ceremony, the main programme will conclude with a preview screening of Táta, produced by prima+.
A father of two lives in modest circumstances in a small town in northern Bohemia. When one of his children is murdered and the perpetrator is declared legally insane and committed for treatment, the devastated father refuses to accept the court’s decision. And he begins to fight.
Director Michal Samir explains why Serial Killer visitors should not miss this story: “First of all, we have a true story about a man who stands up to the state apparatus. A disability pensioner and musician from Nový Bor versus a final, irreversible verdict. It is a story of pure paternal love and civil disobedience. Secondly, there is David Novotný once again in a major, pivotal role, with Nikola Kylarová playing his daughter. And thirdly, there is Tomáš Kotas’s cinematography and filming on authentic locations right there in that strange region.”
Lead actor David Novotný adds: “Jaroslav Bittner is a character inspired by a real person who is still alive, and that feels a little dangerous to me, but also very tempting. I’m used to playing dead people and fictional characters, but now it is someone who is still here. You don’t want to imitate him, simulate him or simply parrot what he went through.”
The preview screening will be attended by a delegation of the creative team, including actor Kryštof Bartoš and actresses Nikola Kylarová and Anita Krausová.
Primetime Killer: What is shaping European series right now
Czech Killer, however, will not be the festival’s only competition this year. The Primetime Killer section will once again present a selection of the most exciting series from Central and Eastern Europe and seek to answer the question of how far the bar for television series in the region has moved over the past year.
The Bulgarian series Zpřetrhaná pouta brings a dark drama about teenagers who often have to create their own family in places where they should not have to look for one – among their classmates and teachers. The new teacher Javora becomes a role model for several high-school students, something they desperately lack at home. Yet even she is not as dependable a source of support as she first appears.
The Polish series Proud follows Filip, a young Warsaw model whose life consists mainly of parties and attempts to escape his past. But when he unexpectedly becomes a father, he must confront old traumas, feelings of guilt and society’s prejudices. The series won the Grand Prix at the Series Mania festival, while Ignacy Liss took home the award for Best Actor.
Viewers will also be taken to Poland by Variola Vera, a series combining hospital drama with a retro spy thriller. The story of a smallpox epidemic in the 1960s follows doctors battling the virus as well as an investigative journalist trying to trace its origins. Its unusual directorial concept combines dramatic sequences with documentary aesthetics and archival footage.
The Czech series Oddíl B and Kamarád will also compete for the Primetime Killer award this year.
The Czech Killer and Primetime Killer awards will be announced at the festival’s closing ceremony on Sunday, 27 September at Divadlo Husa na provázku.
The programme is out. And only one question remains
The programme has been unveiled, and audiences now know what they can look forward to in Brno. One final question remains – who should become the new director of the Serial Killer festival? The finalists answer it in this video.
Photo source: Seriall Killer
More information: https://serialkiller.tv/
Source: kultura21.cz