One of the Czech films receiving its world premiere at the 60th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival is Gregorius, the Chosen One. KVIFF programmer Petra Vočadlová introduced it to audiences as a blend of The Princess Bride, Game of Thrones, Barry Lyndon, and Prince Bajaja. “It’s funny, inventive, and wonderfully cast – so don’t be afraid to laugh,” she told the audience in the Small Hall, whose enthusiastic response proved her right. “Making the film wasn’t easy, but hearing you laugh made me forget all the hardships,” producer Mikuláš Novotný said in reflection of on the audience’ response following the screening.
Asked what had been the greatest challenge in bringing the story of a young man who, after a series of adventures, becomes Pope to the screen, director and screenwriter Tomasz Mielnik said: “Everything about filmmaking is suffering. And when we finished shooting, we still had to work with the puppets. We spent a week sitting in a dusty basement with no fresh air,” he said of the demanding production, inspired by Thomas Mann’s final novel. Like its literary source, the film playfully experiments with language, blending Latin with contemporary expressions. “I wanted it to sound good and have its own distinctive style. It’s a stylised, personal interpretation,” Mielnik explained.
Mielnik cast Jan František Uher in the lead role, marking the actor’s return to the screen six years after his debut in Winter Flies, whose director won the Best Director award at KVIFF. “The film may come across as ironic, but I approached my character with complete sincerity. He believes miracles can happen – and so do I,” the young actor said.
