Lenka Karaka

What do you do when love simply isn’t on the cards and keeps passing you by? 60-year-old Kristýna has lost her last ray of hope, so she goes off with her daughter Sára to talk to a fortune-teller about her sorry lot in life. One year on from Mirrors in the Dark, Šimon Holý brings us another wholly independent film about life’s traumas as seen from a female perspective, this time with a liberal dose of esoterica on top.

What does a drone pilot operating on a peacekeeping mission in an unnamed country see on his monitor? We are slowly getting used to the stream of variously distorted images of so-called strategic targets. Along with the ability to see human beings, animals and landscapes in crumbling shapes, sensitivity to who is watching is increasing. The poem Three Economic Units by Tomáš Čada is the source for the film.

While a few years ago social media and a strong visual identity were a welcome accessory, today they are an essential part of political success. Jan Grolich, Christian Democrat governor of the South Moravia Region, is an example of a politician who has managed to effectively combine traditional values with modern marketing tools. He has gained popularity through his immediacy and perspective. He appears in the same way in Jakub Ondráček's observational documentary. It offers an authentic insight into the behind-the-scenes of Grolich's campaign before the 2024 regional elections, which were disrupted by floods. The camera impartially follows lively discussions about the design of election posters, the distribution of cake to potential voters, and the post-election dilemma of how to deal with results without losing the painstakingly created image of a person who wants to do things his own way.