Snowboarders

Colour, 35 mm
Czech Republic, 2004, 99 min
Section: Czech Films 2004-2005
Oficiální stránky: www.snowboardaci.com

Synopsis

Jáchym and Rendy are friends who really like snowboarding. And they’re champions at it — although only on computer simulators. They’re 16 and determined to change their lives. The first step is a fabulous trip to the mountains (without their parents where they plan to have a blast — on the slopes and off. Their first adult trip together, however, doesn’t start out quite as they expected: like unwanted baggage, they have to take Jáchym’s bitchy older sister along. And Jáchym’s cousin, who manages the chalet where they are staying, puts them to work as soon as they arrive. On top of that, some cool dudes from the Snow Panthers ski team are messing up their chances with the three attractive snowboarders they’re hot for. Finally, snowboarding ain’t as easy as it looks. But obstacles were made to be overcome: it all depends on what happens on New Year’s Eve — and with whom. Writer-director Karel Janák’s teen-comedy debut was a smash hit at the box office.

About the director

Karel Janák (b. 1970) graduated in nuclear and physical engineering from the Czech University of Technology (1993), and in feature film direction from Prague’s Film Academy (FAMU) in 2001. His school films won many awards, for example Kateřina Home Alone (1995) took the Czech Literary Fund Prize, and The Orchard (1996) was awarded the Jury Prize at the Eurofilm St. Etienne IFF in France. His feature TV debut came with Aliens in Colorado (2001), which gained the Main Children’s Jury Prize and the Audience Prize at the specialized German festival in Chemnitz. Janák also makes commercials and promotional films — e.g. TV NOVA hired him to create campaigns and promotional films for the blockbusters Titanic (Golden Promax at Seville for Best Film Promo in Europe), Independence Day (Silver Promax in Cologne) and Raiders of the Lost Ark (Golden Promax in Rome). His feature debut film Snowboarders (2004) will also be made into a TV series.