Sister

Colour, 35 mm
Czech Republic, 2008, 65 min
Section: Czech Films 2008-2009

Synopsis

30-year-old Potok is a stage designer for a small theatre but his life isn’t going anywhere. He looks upon his surroundings and himself with contempt. Everything changes, however, when he meets Černá. The love-struck couple decide to leave town, but inevitably they still keep coming up against self-interest, superficiality and vulgarity. Will Potok be more forgiving of a world which no longer favours exclusive, dark romanticism? This experimental film was inspired by the cult Czech novel of the same name by Jáchym Topol. Debuting director Vít Pancíř, however, takes his film away from the book’s specific setting in post-1989 Prague and concentrates on the timeless inner turmoil of his hero. This unusual film thus presents a private story in which its creator also brings into play his experience making highly individual short films; correspondingly, the main character is played by non-professional actor Jakub Zich, Pancíř’s fellow-student from the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design. The music was written by Filip Topol who, together with the band Psí vojáci, set certain texts from his brother Jáchym’s novel City, Sister, Silver to music in 1994.

About the director

Vít Pancíř (b. 1966, Prague) studied animation under Jiří Barta at Prague’s Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design and worked as an animator. Since 1992, however, he has been chiefly focusing on his own special brand of experimental film involving a combination of various techniques, in particular, animation in conjunction with real footage. He has often used the music of Filip Topol, for whose band Psí vojáci [Dog Soldiers] he created several video clips. Filmography: In the Wind (1997 – Oberhausen IFF, 2000, (Experi) Mental Films from Prague, showcase – New York, 2000), Family Chronicles (1999), screened at a number of international festivals and sent into Czech distribution, Into the Rowanberries (2001), Mare Mare (2004), Dog on Snow (2003), Zdenek’s Chair (2005), Island Hedvika (2007). His films were shown at the Rotterdam IFF in 2007 and at Prague’s Febiofest in 2004. Sister is his feature debut.