The Cinéfondation section will present a world premiere of short animated film Red Shoes by Anna Podskalská, and this year’s edition of prestigious Cannes Classics will welcome one of its awards-winning Czechoslovak films, The Cassandra Cat (1963) by Vojtěch Jasný.
Moreover, six Czech films and co-productions will be screened at the Marché du Film, Zuzana Kirchnerová will take part in the Cinéfondation’s L’Atelier with Caravan, and even more Czech projects will be pitched within the various industry panels.
The Czech Film Fund, represented by its divisions Czech Film Center and Czech Film Commission, will be present at the market.
RED SHOES
- CINÉFONDATION
- World premiere
- Czech Republic 2021 / 14 min
- Directed by: Anna Podskalská
- Produced by: Ondřej Šejnoha – FAMU (CZ)
- In co-production with: FILMTALENT ZLÍN (CZ), Mária Môťovská (CZ)
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The village party has begun and Róza hasn’t been invited to dance. Suddenly, an unknown stranger appears, inviting Róza to dance, giving her a pair of red shoes. Róza starts to dance with great passion, quickly becoming the center of attention. Soon after she realizes, she can’t control the shoes, but the shoes are controlling her…
THE CASSANDRA CAT
- CANNES CLASSICS
- World premiere of digitally restored version
- Czechoslovakia 1963 / 87 min
- Directed by: Vojtěch Jasný
- Screenplay by: Jiří Brdečka, Vojtěch Jasný, Jan Werich
- Awards: Cannes’ Special Jury Prize and the Technical Grand Prize in 1963
- Digital restoration: 4K restoration was carried out in 2021 at L’Immagine Ritrovata in Bologna, under the supervision of Narodni filmovy archiv, Prague
The fairy-tale allegory Až přijde kocour (The Cassandra Cat) was shot by Vojtěch Jasný after making a name for himself with the anthology film Touha (Desire, 1958). Jiří Brdečka and Jan Werich collaborated with Jasný on the screenplay.
Werich also acted in the film, portraying both the main narrator and a traveling magician who puts on a show in the small Czech town. The magician is accompanied by the performer and a magical cat with sunglasses. When the sunglasses are removed, the cat’s vision is able to reveal the true nature of people. Lovers turn red, thieves turn gray, traitors turn yellow…
With its combination of colorful special effects and fantasy story with moralistic undertones, the film enchanted the jury in Cannes, where Jasný won the Special Jury Prize.
