Film Lidice harvested a huge success on the European Film Festival in Seville, Spain. He went out now on DVD.
The very successful film Lidice, which has been seen by 450 000 viewers so far, will be available on DVD as of 26th October.
[30. 9. 2011]
It has managed to capture the attention of even viewers abroad in such a short time since its premiere. Israeli Premier Benjamin Netanjahu has personally requested the very first DVD (Lidice toured around Israel including the opportunity to meet its creators in August and September). The second DVD will go to the hands of the Minister of Foreign Affairs Karel Schwarzenberg, who will present the DVD of Lidice as a gift to the Japanese minister of foreign affairs during his visit to Japan.
However, the “journey” abroad does not end with that for the film Lidice. One must not forget that the film has been selected by the EFA Board for the 24th annual European Film Awards (The 24th European Film Awards are the European equivalent to the Oscars). The winner of the EFA will be announced on 3rd December in Berlin. Lidice will also take part in the film festival held in Seville at the beginning of November.
Apart from the film and the actual working process, the Lidice DVD will also contain typical bonuses (interviews with the creators, a photo gallery, trailers) and a CD with compositions inspired by the film (it came out in spring). Some of them are still being played on the radio [e.g. Plamen (Flame), Michal Hrůza, Aneta Langerová].
The Lidice DVD with CD will be available in stores as of 26th October for 299 CZK.
The opening premiere of the film Lidice was held on 31.5.2011, the distribution premiere 2.6.2011.
Main roles: Karel Roden, Zuzana Fialová, Roman Luknár, Zuzana Bydžovská, Veronika Kubařová
Director: Petr Nikolaev
Copies for download: 2D 3D
More information on the film at www.filmlidice.cz .
Are you sure you really know the story about Lidice?
The film Lidice was chosen for the 24th annual European Film Awards
[31. 8. 2011]
The film Lidice was chosen for the 24th annual European Film Awards. At present, it is reaping acclaim and enjoying tremendous interest in Israel. More than 400 000 cinema-goers have seen the film in the Czech Republic.
The very successful film Lidice, which was released in cinemas at the beginning of June, has been selected by the EFA board along with 39 other European films for the 24th annual European Film Awards. (The 24th European Film Awards, European equivalent to the Oscars). “For us it is truly a huge success”, film producer Adam Dvořák rejoices. “Naturally we would be pleased to receive an award during the awards ceremony at the beginning of December in Berlin, but simply the fact that they even selected Lidice is a great success of its own”.
So far an admirable number of cinema-goers have seen Lidice in Czech cinemas. Already more than 400 000 have seen the film!
The exceptionality of the film Lidice is also confirmed by further interest from abroad. At the moment it is in Israel, where creators lead discussions with the audience after it is shown. Adam Dvořák says: “We have a super response, great people – all generations, who applaud at the end of the film, sit with us in the cinema theatre and ask questions… no discussion has ever lasted less than an hour. We are receiving great responses and are thus very pleased…”
The film Lidice Czech is being presented during the second annual Czech Film Week in Israel (21.8.-8.9.2011), which the Czech Centre in Tel Aviv holds in cooperation with the Czech Embassy in Israel and Israel Cinematheques. The film festival was launched by a gala party and an exclusive showing of Lidice in Tel Aviv Cinematheque on 22nd August, attended by the film’s makers themselves – Adam Dvořák, David Rauch and one of the composers of the film’s soundtrack James Harries. The festival took place (is underway) in Jerusalem and Haifa and the city Sderot, which is located in one of the most endangered places in Israel, will take over in September. A total of more than 30 projections will take place throughout Israel. The Director of the Czech Centre in Tel Aviv, David Stecher says: “I am pleased that in such a short period of our operations in Israel we have managed to establish an annual tradition of presenting the most interesting Czech cinematography has to offer. This makes me all the more delighted that we are exclusively bringing the film Lidice this year, through which we can bring the history of events and tragedies to Israelis, which followed after the heroic feat of Czechoslovak parachutists.”
The opening premiere of the film Lidice was held on 31.5.2011, the distribution premiere 2.6.2011.
LIDICE
[8. 8. 2011]
The film Lidice has been enjoying a tremendous increase in popularity among film-goers. Last week it recorded a 40% increase. It premieres in Slovakia in August, it will tour Israel and the European Film Academy has entered it into the competition for European Film Awards.
Creators of the film Lidice have a reason to celebrate. While other films are leaving cinemas after just a few weeks, on the contrary, Lidice experienced a 40% increase in viewers last week. It even beat Harry Potter, which dropped by 50% during the same period. So far, a total of more than 350 000 viewers have seen the film in the Czech Republic, which is a huge success.
The distribution premiere of Lidice in Slovakia is scheduled for 4th August and is already stirring a great deal of interest now.
The fact that Lidice is an exceptional film is also confirmed by interest from abroad.
At the end of August, Lidice will represent Czech cinematography during the second annual Czech Film week in Israel (21.8.-8.9. 2011), which the Czech Centre in Tel Aviv holds in cooperation with the Czech Embassy in Israel and Israel Cinematheques. The film showing, which will include seven feature films, a documentary film and films by Film and TV School FAMU students, will be launched by a gala party and an exclusive showing of Lidice in Tel Aviv Cinematheque on 22nd August, attended by the film’s makers themselves – Adam Dvořák, David Rauch and one of the composers of the film’s music James Harries. He will also perform here. The showing will also take place in Jerusalem and Haifa, and the city of Sderot will take over in September, which is located in one of the most endangered places in Israel. A total of more than 30 projections will take place throughout Israel. The Director of the Czech Centre in Tel Aviv, David Stecher says: “I am pleased that in such a short period of our operations in Israel we have managed to establish an annual tradition of presenting the most interesting Czech cinematography has to offer. This makes me all the more delighted that we are exclusively brining the film Lidice this year, through which we can bring the history of events and tragedies to Israelis, which followed after the heroic feat of Czechoslovak parachutists.”
The European Film Academy awarding the prestigious EFA European Film Awards, has entered the film Lidice into this year’s competition for the best European film. We will find out at the beginning of December, whether or not it will be as successful with the panel of judges as it is here…
The opening premiere of the film Lidice was held on 31.5.2011, the distribution premiere 2.6.2011.
More information on the film at www.filmlidice.cz
Audience attendance and response to the film Lidice has surpassed everyone’s expectations. Moreover, the film is heading off to our soldiers in Afghanistan
[17. 6. 2011]
Audience attendance and response to the film Lidice has surpassed everyone’s expectations. The numbers continue to rise, even in comparison to the first weekend (by 10%). 123 000 viewers have seen the Lidice already. Even with such difficult content, the film has held up against the foreign competition of long anticipated films. As Adam Dvořák adds with enthusiasm: “…we are number one again on the list of TOP20! Plus, we are presently preparing to show the film to the soldiers of our mission in Afghanistan, in cooperation with the Ministry of Defence of the CR. The impulse came from a viewer, who asked Petr Nikolaev by e-mail, whether or not it would be possible to send a poster of the film with the autographs of the film’s producers and a few words of support to an army unit, which her boyfriend is a part of. It seemed like she was asking for very little, so we got the idea to create a field cinema for field-like conditions. We would also like to send out a delegation of actors.”
Not only has the Czech Cultural Centre in Israel displayed interest in the film, but so has our Embassy in Washington, which would like to have the film for our fellow countrymen.
More information on the film at www.filmlidice.cz
We look forward to having you at the cinema!
Co-producers are MagicBox, MagicBox SK, Czech Television, Wine Gallery and Slovak Television.
The main partners of the film are Autocont and Česká zbrojovka
Partners are the State Fund for Support and Development of Czech Cinematography, the Ministry of Defence CR and the Audiovisual Fund SR
Media partners are MF Dnes, iDnes.cz, Impuls, Instinkt, Mediafax, TV Barrandov, FDB and Euro AWK.
Partner cities are Lidice, Kladno, Prague, Liberec and Opava.
Distributor is Bioscop.
Nocturne of Lidice
[6. 6. 2011]
3rd June 2011 Víkend HN (Weekend Supplement of the Czech newspaper dealing with Economy named Hospodářské noviny) pp. 26 Phenomenon
Česká zbrojovka
„The best known film which would probably never be produced,“ it was a tag given to the film Lidice by the Czech movie critics. The work on the film has been alternately starting and not starting, and that for the whole five years. In that time there were changes of directors, producers, cameramen and even actors. However, all these problems at the end seem to be like something beneficial to this film.
When it was you heard about Lidice for the first time? I tell you to. I guess you had read about it somewhere in the secondary level of the primary school in the history lesson in the form of two lines in a textbook. The village named Lidice was burned out to the ground, its name erased from the map, the man executed, women send to concentration camps, suitable children given for germanization. Everything in such a curt, cold and impersonal manner – and also not very precise – this is the way the schoolchildren learn about tragedy of Lidice. But the story of Lidice is quite different. It is an epic, much more tragic, full of unfortunate accidents, fatal mistakes and twists.
Maybe this is one of concerns you will think about when leaving the cinema after seeing this film. „Do you really think that you know the story of Lidice village?“ ask suggestively (and maybe somewhat annoyingly) omnipresent advertising posters and film banners. A cheap rejoiner, but this time having its foundation. The screenwriters of this film, which yesterday entered the Czech cinema theatres, did not have to think about something to add to this storyline. It was enough just to tell it in a low voice, there is a film that overcomes any fictional history fresco made in Hollywood.
The story about this film fruition made according to the real events taking place in Lidice in June 1942 is just as epic as the tragedy of Lidice itself.
Lidice came to the screen after more than five years of going through really tough period. Also for this reason all film critics went to press screening held last week with undisguised concerns – and with a little of disdain. We have heard about the Lidice film with varying intensity since 2007. No matter how ambitious this production has been it was gradually met with just about every conceivable complication, and several times it seemed that work on Lidice came to a halt. „The best known film which would probably never be produced, “ this was a rather mocking nickname given to Lidice film among filmdom colleagues.
The Nocturne of Lidice, as was the working name of the whole project, passed in the recent years through many difficulties that even Jackson´s big-budget Hobit did not have to be ashamed of. The project had three directors; the cast changed several times, for a long time the resources were searched for covering the record-high budget, the start of production was repeatedly delayed. Problems of this kind usually do not help any film anywhere in the world – from our own experience we know that in the Czech environment this is particularly true.
Despite Everything
At the very beginning of the Lidice film drama there was a meeting between a historian Zdeněk Mahler with only one man who survived the massacre of Lidice. His name was František Saidl and he escaped a firing squad in Lidice paradoxically as just in that time he was serving a four-year sentence in Prague prison in Pankrác for unintentional killing of his own son, which occurred in 1938. Mahler, on the basis of these personal meetings and many years of careful research of then little known story of František Saidl (in the script the character played by Karel Roden is renamed to František Šíma), from the historical perspective very accurately elaborated. Although this film has all the attributes of a great contemporary frescoes Lidice are not a historical epic mega film, but more of an impressive psychological drama of one unknown fate. And just for this intimately conceived scenario the film Lidice works marvellously on the screen.
In early 2007 Mahler won for his Nocturne the Prize awarded by the Czech Film and Television Academy for the Best Unrealized Screenplay. And just here he met the producer, editor and manager of the Bioscop company Mr Adam Dvořák, who get really excited about this ambitious project recalling the biggest trauma of WWII during Nazi occupation. And as it turned out he had also to defy many obstacles to get it.
From the very beginning it was clear to everyone that this will not be a cheap enterprise, and hence not easy to produce. Seventy-million’s Lidice are twice as expensive than is the average price for the Czech feature film. But with the Lidice film it was hard to make any savings. A spectacular contemporary production design, dozens of characters in historical costumes and uniforms, time-expired military technique, spectacular effects inevitably accompanying that tragic climax of the story of village in the Central Bohemia which is totally exterminated: a baseline budget for the Lidice tragedy film adaptation already calculated with the amount of sixty-five million of Czech Koruna, which over the time, still grew further. Due to the scenario, the storyline of which gradually takes place during all seasons was additionally anticipated a yearlong filming on location.
The budget involved having giant proportions has for a long time failed to be collected, and that even in spite of – until that time unprecedented grant amounting to twenty million Czech Korunas, which for this film was allocated by the National Fund of the Czech Republic for Promotion and Development of the Czech Cinematography. Finally, besides several of private co-producers involved in this film production there was engaged even the Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic, Česká zbrojovka, its share in contribution to the budget had also cities and municipalities connected with the tragedy of Lidice. “It was like on a seesaw. For a while it seemed that to raise money for a film reminiscent of the contemporary major historic event would not be a problem. Then it seemed to be on the contrary, that money for the Lidice film simply cannot be collected,“ says producer Adam Dvořák. ”That movie could not have been made half-heartedly. I am glad I was around people, who in those uncertain times were prompt with advice. For instance to address individual towns and to create imaginary national collection. Contributions for the Lidice film came from Kladno, Prague, but also from Liberec or Opava. Particularly these contributions get Lidice into cinemas,“ says Novák.
With his words one has on the mind one thought – for which film it would be more easy to raise money than for this meritorious work reviving now memory of nation in events, which happened relatively long time ago in attractive yet sensible form even for the youngest generation? Thirty-eight years old producer rather not mentions those most bizarre moments, when all efforts to cover the budget bordered with despair: one of the partners had decided to withdraw form the project because the owners of his parent company are Germans and they would probably not liked such portrayal of their “compatriots” in the Lidice film.
Hollandová, Nellis, Nikolaev
Even choosing a director was for the Lidice film not an easy task. The film authors led by the screenwriter Mahler originally intended to make a large European co-production; they negotiated with the American director of Polish ancestry Agnieszka Holland, who recently finished filming of Czech-Slovak-Polish movie Janošík. However, no agreement has been materialized. Miss Holland was replaced by Alice Nellis, who for a long time cooperated with Zdeňek Mahler on the script and done casting for the most of major roles – in the originally intended version Lenka Vlasáková had to play the role of a secret lover of Karel Roden and Anička Maruščáková (or Marusczáková), for whom the one of the Lidice youths commits fatal error leading to false assessment of Lidice citizens participation in the assassination of Heydrich, had to be played initially by Martha Issová.
When finally those involved managed to collect the requisite finance to cover the film budget and the filming could start then there was another blow. I remember very vividly the moment when in the last year in the early June all journalists received the news that Alice Nellis, who has been working on Lidice intensively for several years just a few days before filming started she was taken ill with borreliosis, and she was forced to withdraw from this project in the time when the difficulties with finances were finally. She, the director of such films as are Tajnosti (Secrets), Výlet (Outing) and Mamas and Papas, was replaced in the director chair by Mr Petr Nikolaev – and literally only a few days before filming some of the roles were re-cast. Miss Lenka Vlasáková was replaced by Slovakian actress Zuzana Fialová, the character of Anička instead of Miss Issová was realized by Veronika Kubařová.
Lidice are perhaps cursed, I thought then. And I was for sure not alone in that. All the more suggestive was to watch the resulting film enterprise on the screen: the authority of Alice Nellis is at the film Lidice ever present – whether it is a consistent detailing of female characters led by disabled wife (Zuzana Bydžovská) of the main character and his spontaneous lover (Zuzana Fialová), emotive, strong and despite this and yet a wholly non-pathetic scenario, in which desperate mothers closed in school in town Kladno calm their to death frightened children, and there is also pivotal elaboration of this director’s favourite theme – partners infidelity. The impact of Alice Nellis is to Lidice film in short very beneficial, despite the fact that she as director had no chance to film it.
Nikolaev then decided for key change among productive personnel. For the position of the director of photography he engaged a Mexican cinematographer Mr Antonio Riestra, who among other also participated also in the famous Mexican-American biographic movie Frida. Thanks to Riestra the film Lidice gained by Czech standards atypical „contemporary“ styling, something of a historic patina; many film takes look as authentic, yellowed contemporary photographs. “I was surprised how Riestra conceived the whole of this theme and the actual filming“ admits Dvořák the producer. „He embarked on using a unique technique. He utilised a special bellows so as to achieve the part of the image to be sharp and part to be fuzzy. He was playing with light and darkness. Initially I was a little bit worried, but the result is totally convincing, distinctive and original - Lidice from a different perspective,“ says the producer. As if Lidice with every production problem paradoxically gained in momentum. Eventually, even the lack of time was appreciated by the film’s director. “My position was not an easy one. A minimum for preparation of such an epic project takes a period of six months. I had barely two months. The positive is that I had not to experience the anxiety with producers if Lidice would have enough finances. Instead of postponements there was only need to make the film. But I say this only in quotes,“ describes situation Petr Nikolaev, for whom were Lidice in his words clearly the most demanding project of his film career. But he has nothing to be afraid of as he has made an excellent drama, which aspires to the title of the best Czech film of the year.
Behind unleashing of Lidice tragedy actually stands one love letter. Read about it on IHNED.cz (in Czech only).
***
FEMALE NAME LIDICE
Many foreign distributors expressed their interest in film about Lidice village tragedy. It is no surprise as the fate of Lidice is not in the global context unknown. Bloody crime of Nazi occupants was condemned already during WW II by politicians in Europe and overseas. All over the world, towns and municipalities were renamed Lidice. In Latin America until today maintain a tradition to use the name of the burned out village as a girl’s first name – Adam Dvořák the producer only on the Facebook social network found four hundred woman having this name. Because of the international potential of this film staff making this film added at the last moment a sequence depicting procedure of Reinhard Heydrich assassination, occurring on 27th May 1942. In the initial study this scene was dropped due to the lack of funds. “After consultation with the U.S. distributor we have in the end decided to add the assassination scene. We want this film to be understandable also to the public anywhere in the world, where they are not so familiar with the context of historical events in Europe. The Lidice film is already subject of interest for distributors in the United States, but also from Asian countries,“ adds Adam Dvořák.
The story of this film realization is likewise epic as the tragedy of Lidice itself. The film Lidice made according to the script by the writer and historian Zdeňek Mahler (right) was originally being prepared by director Alice Nellis, however she was eventually replaced in the director’s chair by Petr Nikolaev.
Do you really think you know the story of Lidice? The long awaited Lidice film is on 2nd June launched into Czech cinemas. This story already rises immense emotions ...
[27. 5. 2011]
The Czech epic story about Lidice village will have festive premiere on 31st May and will be released for screening in cinemas on 2nd June. This film already raises a great interest and emotions, which was confirmed during today’s screening for journalist at the Lucerna Movie Theatre. The interest in the film showed not only Czech Cultural Centre in Israel or the Czech Embassy In Washington, which wants the Lidice film for the Czech fellow-countrymen, but also many others.
It is also interesting to note that the producer Mr Adam Dvořák using social networks managed to address more than four hundred women with the name Lidice. We hope it would not be a faux pas when we reveal that photos of these women will run in closing titles and that there is more of them than inhabitants of Lidice in the time of this village obliteration.
Lidice is a story of real people, the story based on real events.
For more information please visit http://www.filmlidice.cz/en/
Basic information about film Lidice – please find more information at the press kit in the attachment
"If future generations ask us what we are fighting for (in World War II), we shall tell them the story of Lidice" Frank Knox, USA Secretary of the Navy - 1941-1944.
Burning down of Lidice village was the only one officially acknowledged act of genocide by the fascist Germany, which during the war shook the whole world …..
The film is based on a script originally titled Nokturno written by highly acclaimed writer and historian Mr Zdenek Mahler, in 2007 the script was awarded with the Czech Lion Prize as the best unrealized screenplay.
In spite of this or just because of it that the film deals with remarkable film theme, the road to the first clapper board was rather thorny. Thanks to the helpful approach of some of the Czech companies and the generosity of Czech municipalities that have not been indifferent to the fate of the film the production after many peripetia began on 26th July 2010. The film Lidice is based on true events and tells the story about the people who are the same as we are – they loved, were unfaithful, two-faced, rejoiced, flattered, be fair.
The film is built around three pivotal, interconnected stories taking place against the background of tragic incident of Lidice village burned out on 10th June 1942. The first of these stories is about an unfortunate coincidence when father named František Šíma (played by Karel Roden) in a quarrel accidentally kills his son. He is punished for this not only by conviction and prison sentence, thanks to this he is the only man of Lidice who survives, but also with contempt shown by other people from this village and by his own qualms. The second depicts the fate of the letter, which became the pretext for the act of burning of Lidice. Behind it is a story of love, lies and false heroism. The third story brings a picture of Lidice police officer Vlček (played by Roman Luknár), image of personal fear, personal responsibility and morale, relationship towards the system, but also about the issue, whether it is a real gain to survive when the cost is loss of dignity and conscience.
Film production - July 2010 to April 2011.
Footage 126 min. Format 1:1,85. Number of copies 26. Sound Dolby Digital.
Cinema release: 2nd June 2011. Target group: From 12 years and older.
Co-production realized with MagicBox, MagicBox SK, Česká televise (Czech TV), Vinná galerie (Wine Gallery) and Slovenská televise (Slovak TV).
Main Partners of the Film are Autocont and Česká zbrojovka
Partners are Státní fond ČR pro podporu a rozvoj české kinematografie (National Fund of the Czech Republic for Promotion and Development of the Czech Cinematography), Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic and Audiovisual Fund of the Slovak Republic
Media Partners are MF Dnes, iDnes.cz, Impuls, Instinkt, Mediafax, TV Barrandov, FDB and Euro AWK.
Partner Towns and Cities are Lidice, Kladno, Praha, Liberec, and Opava.
Distribution by Bioscop.
.pdf PRESS KIT (czech)
Lidice: the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich and the soundtrack
[3. 5. 2011]
Done! Claimed the makers of the film entitled "Lidice" a few weeks ago. But even at this moment in time this is not exactly true. The assassination of Heydrich is now scheduled for filming on Wednesday, the 27th April in Prague 4, on Hoffmann Street, which is closest site visually to contemporary photographs of the actual location of the assassination. The date of the premiere - 31st May - remains unchanged. The principal partner in the film is Česká zbrojovka.
Thus a scene will be completed that had been omitted from the original screenplay due to lack of funds. The reasons why this scene will be shot at the last minute, is explained by the film's producer, Adam Dvořák: "We decided to take this unconventional step following consultations with the U.S. distributor. We wish the film to also be fully understood by a global audience that may not be knowledgeable concerning European historical events and the Lidice film will also thereby gain a higher level of action and an additional spectacular dimension. I truly appreciate the fact that prior to the Gala Premiere launching the film, the distributors, not only those from the United States but also from Asian countries, expressed their interest in a tangible manner."
Another unusual bonus is the soundtrack, created under the direction of Michal Hrůza, that should specifically help to make the topic of Lidice relevant for the younger generation. This is not the film music on which Hrůza worked with James Harries. The soundtrack is effectively a separate project, containing modern pieces interpreted by some very well-known artists - for example, Lucie Bílá, Aneta Langerová, Michal Hrůza and the Divokej Bill band.
The CD, with the title Lidice, will be released on the 7th May, in a limited number of copies and will be available for purchase through the PNS network for CZK 69. Definitely an added bonus will be the attached voucher for a free ticket to "Lidice" when it is shown in the Cinestar network.
For complete information about the Lidice film visit www.filmlidice.cz or http://www.facebook.com/filmlidice
LIDICE - the film about Lidice is not a documentary film
[28. 2. 2011]
The film about Lidice is not a documentary film – it describes three interrelated stories of people set against the background of the tragic destruction of the village of Lidice. There are emotions, love, betrayal, virtue as well as hatred.
The first run of the film is planned for 9 June 2011.
Starring: Karel Roden, Zuzana Fialová, Zuzana Bydžovská, Roman Luknár, Jan Budař, Veronika Kubařová, Ondřej Novák and others.
The authors will approach children and young people – the film poster will get into the history textbooks.
The film authors will make their dream come true – a dream to bring the story of Lidice closer to children and young people – from the next school year, the film poster will become a part of history textbooks for ninth classes of elementary schools.
Česká zbrojovka supports film LIDICE
[28. 1. 2011]
In the September of the last year there was the last clapper board of the Lidice movie and its makers went into editing room, where up to Christmas they processed the footage. However, in the whole creative process there has been a certain turn-around. On Tuesday 18th January the shooting of the film will still continues – thanks to the financial support of Česká zbrojovka.
As the website of the film Lidice is informing the filmed footage will cover occupation of the administrative building in the town Kladno by Germans. We will also see the meeting of the main characters of this film – Lidice village policeman Vlček (Roman Luknár) a František Šíma (Karel Roden). It will make this film more epic and authentic.
The support of the film Lidice is another Czech film the creation of which was supported by Česká zbrojovka. The last time it was the film Kajínek, where you can see firearms made by Česká zbrojovka.
