Archive of films Wingless / Ocas ještěrky

Czech Republic / North Macedonia
2009, 90 min

Section: Czech Films 2008-2009
Year: 2009

Josef Bárta came into the world with the prophecy that he’d be dead at age 29. Just as his 29th birthday is approaching, his wife leaves him with their son in tow. Thus begins a series of shocks in the young man’s life. Veteran director Ivo Trajkov has shot a parable, freely inspired by a Božena Němcová story and moral dilemmas à la Krzysztof Kieślowski.

Synopsis

Josef Bárta came into the world with the prophecy that he’d be dead at age 29. Just as his 29th birthday is approaching, his wife leaves him with their son in tow. To make matters worse, Josef loses his job. Despite having repaired precision scales his whole life, his own existence is suddenly thrown completely out of balance. A curious friendship with free-spirited Gabriel introduces new impulses – and troubles – into Josef’s life. But it looks as if love, in the form of the beautiful Oliva, may offer liberation.... "What interested me most about the project was the conflict between individual free will and predestination,” states director Ivo Trajkov about his movie parable, freely inspired by a Božena Němcová story and moral dilemmas à la Krzysztof Kieślowski. The director treats the tale’s protagonist as an ordinary person who has yet to excel at anything in life, yet although he finds it difficult to reflect on his own situation, he still manages to see it with earnestness and humility. But is this enough to change his fate?

About the director

Ivo Trajkov (b. 1965, Skopje, Macedonia) studied at Prague’s FAMU in 1986-92, where he later returned to lecture in editing. He also works as a director, producer, screenwriter, and documentary filmmaker for TV. His first feature was Jan (1992), a TV movie about student Jan Zajíc who immolated himself, and his documentaries include Such a Normal Marriage and The Testimony of a Concealed Witness (both 1996). He is a cofounder of The World Circle Foundation. In 1993 he debuted in features with the holiday comedy The Canary Connection, and five years later he made a name for himself as a writer-director with The Past (1998). In 2004 he came out with the psychological drama The Great Water, in which he dealt with his country’s past, a history burdened by totalitarian practices and fanaticism (Best Director and Best Film at the 2005 Valencia Festival of Mediterranean Cinema). In 2007 he shot the experimental film The Movie, taking on the main role as a movie director.

Contacts

endorfilm
Přímětická 4, 140 00, Praha 4
Czech Republic
Tel: +420 241 730 780
E-mail: [email protected]
www: www.endorfilm.cz

Falcon a.s.
Radlická 1c/3185, 150 00, Praha 5
Czech Republic
Tel: +420 224 422 222
E-mail: [email protected]
www: www.falcon.cz

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About the film

Color, 35 mm

Section:	Czech Films 2008-2009

Director:	Ivo Trajkov
Screenplay:	Vladislav Kliment, Alan Smisík
Dir. of Photography:	Klaus Fuxjäger
Music:	Zoran Madžirov
Editor:	Petra Berkovičová Raušová
Producer:	Jiří Konečný
Production:	endorfilm
Cast:	David Švehlík, Karel Zima, Verica Nedeska, Magdaléna Sidonová, Marie Durnová, Václav Helšus, Karel Dobrý
Contact:	endorfilm, Falcon a.s.
Distributor:	Falcon a.s.

www:	www.ocas-jesterky.cz