Far Away, So Close!
Czech and Slovak Cinema Landscapes
The cinematic traditions of the Czech Republic and Slovakia are among the most influential film cultures in Europe. Yet they remain surprisingly little known in German-speaking countries. Viewed from Berlin, they seem close at hand, yet their aesthetic diversity, long-standing historical experiences, and cultural influences make them seem far removed.
The series Far Away, So Close!, curated by Ralph Eue, Brigitte Mayr, and Michael Omasta, takes this tension as its starting point and charts largely uncharted territory.
Taking place at the Zeughauskino and Kino Krokodil, this series will present a total of eight programs through the end of the year, showcasing key trends, themes, and points of rupture in Czech and Slovak cinema—from the early days of the Czechoslovak Republic to the present. The focus is less on establishing a new canon and more on highlighting works that stand out for their distinctive aesthetic sensibility and are thus well-suited to fostering a more complex understanding of the place of film and cinema within a given political and social context. The selected films reflect the political upheavals, everyday experiences, and collective imaginations of their time. They are like echoes and are often full of contradictions and ambivalence. This opens up a cinematic horizon in which the productive tension between proximity and distance is continually brought into focus, revealing previously overlooked connections between films and countries, themes and styles, eras and schools. Thus, Don’t Rejoice Too Soon!, the retrospective’s first program, brings together Czech and Slovak comedies, while Through Wounded Times traces the footsteps of history.
This film series, which is accompanied by a publication to be released in October by SYNEMA (Vienna), was made possible by the Capital Cultural Fund and the German-Czech Future Fund. It was organized in close collaboration with the National Film Archive (Prague) and the Slovak Film Institute (Bratislava). Special thanks also go to Linda Söffker and Michael Pekler, the Czech Center Berlin, and the Slovak Institute in Berlin.
Ralph Eue, Brigitte Mayr, Michael Omasta
