Archive of films Peace with Seals / Mír s tuleni

Czech Republic / Italy
2007, 90 min

Section: Czech Films 2007-2008
Year: 2008

This playful “documentary fable” opens with a quest to find the Mediterranean seal, once a common sight, but now almost eradicated by sun-seeking tourists homing in on its natural habitat. Rather than seals, the film examines the egocentric human species, which uses aggression to recreate the natural world around it with devastating results. Will we change our view and reassess the dominant position modern man has adopted towards nature?


Synopsis

How has our attitude towards animals changed over the last hundred years? The Mediterranean seal, for example, was a common sight off the coast of Turkey or on Sardinia. Now it’s one of the most endangered species in Europe: tourism has gradually forced it from its natural habitat. Director Miloslav Novák and Italian filmmaker and specialist in the species Emanuele Coppola, searched in vain for the creature: not even their attempt to lure it to shore by playing EU national anthems through underwater loudspeakers did any good. In the end, the filmmakers examined the fate of famous seals: Gaston, who was “liberated” from the Prague zoo by the floods of 2002 and swam along the Elbe all the way to Germany; and Odysseus who, in 1951, found himself attracting tourists in Rome’s Trevi fountain and allegedly inspired Federico Fellini’s famous scene from The Sweet Life (La dolce vita, 1960). Novák’s original film, whose creator describes it as a documentary fable, is not just about seals. It tells us more about the destructive nature of people who, in their negligence towards animals, demonstrate their anthropocentric arrogance.

About the director

Miloslav Novák

Miloslav Novák (b. 1978, Dvůr Králové nad Labem) graduated from the SVOŠF film school in Písek and, after studying editing at Prague’s FAMU, worked as a journalist for the Czech papers Lidové noviny and Literární noviny. He continued with documentary filmmaking at FAMU while concurrently attending Charles University’s Philosophical Faculty. In 1997 he made the short film Dangers of Loneliness (Samota bývá nebezpečná – Special Mention at the IAFF in Annecy 1998). In 2001 he filmed the documentary profile J.C. – Experience with Expressionism (J.C. – Zkušenost s expresionismem) about the distinguished Czech film and literary critic Jiří Cieslar. He got together with Lucie Králová in 2003 to direct the film Ill-Fated Child (Zlopověstné dítě), which won Best Documentary at the IFF in Jihlava. During his six-month period spent studying at university in Cagliari, Sardinia, he made the film Is Mortorious, about blind people’s perception of hearing.

Contacts

Bontonfilm, a.s.
Na Poříčí 1047/26, 110 00, Praha 1
Czech Republic
Tel: +420 257 415 111
Fax: +420 257 415 113
E-mail: [email protected]
www: www.bontonfilm.cz

Taskovski Films Ltd.
19-21 Christopher Street, EC2A 2B, London
United Kingdom
Tel: +387 656 520 46
E-mail: [email protected]
www: www.taskovskifilms.com

About the film

Color, 35 mm

Section: Czech Films 2007-2008
   
Director: Miloslav Novák
Screenplay: Ferdinand Pitrosu
Dir. of Photography: Emanuele Coppola, Jakub Halousek
Music: Nino Rota
Editor: Adam Brothánek
Producer: Jitka Maxová
Production: 12 OPIC
Contact: Bontonfilm, a.s., Taskovski Films Ltd.
Distributor: Bontonfilm, a.s.

Guests

Miloslav Novák

Journalist

Irena Taskovski

Sales Agent


Aleš Danielis

Distributor

Marek Jeníček

Distributor, Producer


Michal Kroupa

Distributor, Distributor

Helena Rosová

Film Director


Zbyšek Košťák

Film Crew

Jitka Novaková

Film Crew


Marta Švecová

Festival Organizer, Film Institution Rep., Sales Agent

Uta Gildhuis

Sales Agent


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