Identity Card

Colour, 35 mm
Czech Republic, Slovak Republic, 2010, 137 min
IP – International premiere
Section: Czech Films 2010 - 2011

Synopsis

Prague, 1974. Petr and his classmates Popelka, Aleš and Míťa are ceremoniously presented with their identity cards at the age of 15. Officially, this is a landmark in the life of socialist citizens – in reality, however, it’s a document the police can use to humiliate and manipulate young rebels at their convenience. The four friends’ post-pubertal trials come to an end in 1977 when they attempt to acquire a "blue book” enabling them to avoid compulsory service in the Communist army. Both together and independently, the friends try to maintain their sense of humour and levelheadedness in the totalitarian environment – and endeavour not to compromise themselves with the regime like their parents. This acerbic comedy by director and producer Ondřej Trojan was inspired by the book of the same name by Petr Šabach. The film isn’t aimed at people who witnessed the era, but at the younger generation of viewers, whom it obliges with a cast of young protagonists and an appealing evocation of the music subculture and lifestyle of the period. The film was nominated for eleven Czech Lion awards.

About the director

Ondřej Trojan (b. 1959, Prague) is a producer, director and actor. He hails from a family of actors, but he studied maths and chemistry at the Education Faculty. He worked at Barrandov for two years as a prop man and began studying direction at FAMU in 1985.  He interrupted his studies in 1990 to make the feature-length comedy Let’s All Sing Around. He teamed up with colleagues from Sklep Theatre to establish the production company Total HelpArt T.H.A., through which he produced a number of audience hits, specifically those directed by Jan Hřebejk, particularly Cosy Dens (1999), Divided We Fall  (2000 – Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Language Film), Pupendo (2003), Up and Down (2004) and Beauty in Trouble (2006). His second feature, the war drama Zelary (2003), was nominated for an Oscar in the Best Foreign Language Film category.