Libuše Šafránková

A miracle happened 50 years ago: The fairy tale "Three Hazelnuts for Cinderella" becomes the ultimate Christmas movie and turns the actors into stars overnight. Libuše Šafránková and Pavel Trávníček, fresh from drama school, took the hearts of millions of viewers by storm. The documentary answers recurring questions from fans: Why was it filmed in the freezing cold winter and not in summer, for which the costumes were tailored? How did a Czech film idea become a cooperation with DEFA? Pavel Trávníček recalls the filming 50 years ago and takes the audience to the original location of the happy ending scene. An immortal Cinderella myth is explored, told and celebrated.

A cheerful fairy tale with songs about magic and a tangled search for a missing baron. All it took was one petty argument, a little absent-mindedness, and Lady Valentina of the princely Rybenský family accidentally turned her fiancé, Baron Lumír Mokřenský, into a donkey. Such a mishap must be kept secret, especially since Valentýna has no idea how to reverse the spell. She prefers to let everyone think that Lumír ran away before the wedding and that she keeps the donkey as a pet...

Charming 60-something José returns to Prague after 30 years living in Mexico, though he was convinced that he would never see his hometown again. He was persuaded by his deeply religious Mexican wife Dolores, who is convinced that only a miracle that might be fulfilled by Prague’s famous Infant Jesus can help their daughter Penelopé get pregnant. And the ideal time for this is Christmas. And when Ruda, his friend from Prague, also insists, José agrees to return to the places he used to know and to the memories that they bring back – including his former Prague love. And it becomes evident that the Infant Jesus is not the only one capable of making miracles come true in Prague. Penelopé’s longed-for conception is definitely not the only one…

Tragicomic family film about the world of children heroes - particularly the son of a local communist officer and his friend, a little hostage of the regime, whose parents emigrated to the West, few years before "Prague Spring" and the occupation of Czechoslovakia. Camaraderie, the first big discoveries of love, enemy gang fights and naive ideas are confronted with the reality of adult's world. The film is about the first contacts with bizarre and absurd reality of relationships and attitudes of adults, politics, emigration, but also betrayal and death and about how all those things form and transform the lives of small boys, who are forced to grow up too quickly.

An opera troupe in a small town decides to perform Mozart's Don Giovanni. The view behind the scenes uncovers the world of opera without the glitter. A tale of love and disappointment, about music and passionate love-making and about people that live their lives in spite of the opera.

The shadow of a great dragon circles above the royal castle, Princess Caroline tries on a black mourning dress while crying, and a few invited princes feast in the courtyard. Over a good meal, they discuss what should be done. The first prince suggests offering the dragon a few hundred subjects instead of the princess, the second believes that the kingdom has neglected prevention and that the dragon should be dissuaded, and the third prince has composed a song about it. But none of them wants to face the dragon...

A minimalist portrait of ultimate love.

"I'm feeling like a dog, doctor". Mr. Ota Posta is not feeling very well lately, deprived and humiliated like a dog he turns into one.

The fairy tale tells the story of a royal couple who cannot have children. With the help of a magical prop, they finally succeed, but in double measure. They give birth to twins. Which prop is responsible for this? Well, take a guess, or better yet, take another look at the title of the fairy tale. When the boys grow up and one of them is supposed to take over the joys and responsibilities of ruling, an unsolvable problem arises: should it be Vojta or František? We won't reveal the plot with all its twists and turns, but one thing is certain: the boys set out into the world with the understanding that the one who can perform the greater heroic deed will become king. The princes, even though they are not exactly cut out for it, take on the task with all their vigor and responsibility.

The king raised two unbearable daughters—Princesses Jája and Anýzka. He no longer knows what to do with them. Perhaps the only solution is to send them to the charming witch Halíbela for re-education! She won't coddle them! But her son Elixír claims that almighty love can change them for the better more than witchcraft. And so he ends up making a bet with Halíbela...

In a land of two kingdoms - one ruthless under King Vladan’s conquests, the other hidden behind a magical lake and ruled by kindly King Dobromil - Queen of Fire enchants Princess Mariana in living flame to force Dobromil’s hand in ceding the kingdom’s fabled Ruby Heart. Desperate, Dobromil uses a magic ring to summon the ever-jovial Tadeáš from Vladan’s realm; Tadeáš braves the flames, rescues Mariana, and wins her heart, only for their triumph to be threatened once more.

After a fictitious marriage with a Russian emigrant, Cellisten Louka, a Czech man, must suddenly take responsibility for her son. However, it’s not long before the communication barrier is broken between the two new family members.

The time is 1945-46. 10 year old Eda and his friend Tonda live in a small village outside Prague. In school, their class is so wild and indisciplined that their teacher quits and is replaced by the militant Igor Hnidzo. He is very strict – but also very fair. His weakness though, is his interest in young women.

A professor reunites with an old friend who inspires him to return to Czechoslovakia for the first time since he emigrated years ago.

Told from the perspective of man reflecting on his childhood in Prague in the early years of World War II and the eventual destruction of his family as the Nazis rise to power. The storyline focuses heavily on Jewish-Czech Silberstein family members. Drama was filmed on the real events as a tribute to Mr. Nicholas Winton, the British humanitarian who organized the rescue of 669 children, most of them Jewish, from Czechoslovakia on the eve of the Second World War in an operation later known as the Czech Kindertransport from German-occupied Czechoslovakia and likely death in the Holocaust.

Capturing the dark humor of Czech author Michal Viewegh's chronicle of life after the Velvet Revolution, this black comedy chronicles three decades in the life of a small Czech family. While the original novel centered on the protagonist Kvido from his conception through his adulthood, first time director Petr Nikolaev and screenwriter Jan Novak changed the focus to his parents Milena, an extremely self-effacing lawyer who acts on stage in her spare time, and Ales, a rather aimless government worker who tends to drift wherever the wind takes him. The lives of Ales and Milena change dramatically following the Russian invasion of Prague in 1968.

The filmed fairy-tale is a comedy based on the classical story about Reason and Happiness. This enchanting couple is ever debating on which of the two is more important for mankind, their encounters are watched by the third fairy-tale figure aunt Envy. A story of true love that wins over the evil powers of immortal human envy.

No synopsis available yet.

Biography of Karel Čapek.

Unlike any other opera, the so-called Beggar's Opera is not just one composition, but a lineage of adapted compositions, beginning with the original hugely successful 1728 political satire written by Englishman John Gay. Composers and writers have penned variations on it ever since. The most famous of these was A Threepenny Opera by Bertholt Brecht and Kurt Weill. Some things these compositions share in common is their setting among the poor and criminal classes, and the roguish character Macheath. This production is based on an adaptation of Gay's original by Vaclav Havel the freedom-fighter, writer and philosopher who became the first (and only) president of the united post-communist country of Czechoslovakia, and it retains many traces of its theatrical origins. Film reviewers were not too tolerant of what they called "slavish adherence" to the noted Czech writer's stage production, but theater, philosophy and history buffs may feel otherwise.

No synopsis available yet.

A tragicomic story from a tragicomic time - this is how one could characterize Jiří Hubac's play, which premiered in May 1991. The drama of two friends who fought in England as Czech airmen during the war and had to live through the well-known martyrdom after returning home is a story about the power of friendship, the courage to transcend oneself in the face of violence and the right to preserve human memory. The television film by director Jaroslav Dudek, who cast Jiří Bartoska and Josef Dvořák in the lead roles, was honoured with the prestigious Prix Europe international award in Reykjavik.

No synopsis available yet.

An episodic film about the inhabitants of Kersko, their hardships and their joys, most prominently hunting. A lyrical and humorous adaptation of writings by Bohumil Hrabal.

The movie's main storyline follows the life of Otík, a young man, in a tight-knit village community. The sweet-tempered Otík works as an assistant truck driver with Mr. Pávek, his older colleague and practical-minded neighbor. Pávek's family takes care of Otík, whose parents are dead. However, the two coworkers become at odds over Otík's inability to perform even the simplest tasks. Pávek demands that Otík be transferred to assist another driver, who happens to be a choleric and suspicious man named Turek (Turk in Czech). Rather than work with Turek, Otík decides to accept an offer of employment in Prague, but finds he does not fit in to the city life. After discovering that the transfer of Otík to Prague was a trick by a crooked politician to get a deal on Otík's large inherited house, Pávek agrees to give Otík a second chance and retrieves him from the city to resume their work together.

Brave sons of the king, twin brothers Jaroslav and Jaromír love and help each other. It was they and another brother - Jindrich, who once saw the portrait of Princess of Diamond Mountains, fell in love and went on her quest.

A fairy-tale about the power of love. The old king Pravoslav feels it is time to entrust the rule over his kingdom to one of his three daughters - the one that loves him the most. The youngest, Maruška, fails her father's expectations about proving how deep her love him is. He misunderstands her and she is made to leave the castle. She faces many dangers on the way to her loved one, the Salt Prince.

Czechoslovak comedy film directed by Ladislav Smoljak, about the fictional national hero Jára Cimrman (universal genius, inventor, sportsman, criminalist, poet, writer and philosopher).

A comedy concerning a down on his luck bookshop owner with a penchant for women who decides to make some money by pretending to be a waiter and collecting cash from unsuspecting diners.

No synopsis available yet.

Josef Laufer portrays Egon Erwin Kisch in two daring journalistic adventures: in “Zuřivý reportér,” Kisch goes undercover in a poverty lodging house, uncovers a tattoo’s dark backstory and deciphers a secret telegram hinting at war via the legend of the black rose; in “Lovci senzací,” he pursues sensational leads and exposes hidden truths, proving why he was rightly called “the raging reporter.”

Deputy of cartography enterprise Mr. Ciruvka tries to seduce the colleague's assistant to destabilize his confident in a run for the director's chair. But things can go wrong.

No synopsis available yet.

A scientist meets a nice girl and they start dating. He decides the only way to find out for sure if she’s the one is to take a long trip with her, but things don’t go quite as he’d hoped.

No synopsis available yet.

No synopsis available yet.

The water sprite Toníček fell in love with the beautiful and hard-working Andulka, but her father did not approve, so he sent her to Prague to work as a servant. Toníček did not give up and went to look for her. All the water sprites from Prague and the surrounding area helped him, but Andulka was nowhere to be found. Of course, she was eventually found, but it was not easy.

No synopsis available yet.

No synopsis available yet.

No synopsis available yet.

TV movie "Triptych of love" was created by short stories by famous Slovak writer Ladislava Nádaši - Jégeho. Historical themes in his works have an ambition to bring over to look attractive environment and time bygone era strong dramatic stories and exciting human destinies. Renaissance short stories from the collection "Italy" are a variety of views from different backgrounds, linking theme of many forms of love, its tones and semitones, from bitterly ridiculous after tragic. Screenwriter Ján Števček that dramatically processed three Jégeho stories.

The aging police commissioner, who has a twenty-five-year-old fiancée, Olga, is disturbed at his sixtieth birthday party by the news from the administrator Psekov that his master, the cornet Klyausov, has been murdered. A commission, headed by an investigating judge, is sent to the estate of the debauched nobleman. The decisive evidence is a Swedish match.

No synopsis available yet.

No synopsis available yet.

An historical depiction of the events preceding the political murder of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, would-be emperor of the Austro-Hungarian throne, in Sarajevo on June 28th, 1914.

Popelka, a resourceful and independent young girl, is a servant in her stepmother's house and confides in her closest friend the owl. When she comes across three magical acorns, she's granted a single wish for each one of them.

A wonderful fairytale about looking for love, defeating evil and learning some valuable moral lessons on the way. The story begins with the young Prince Velen, who is left in charge of the castle and his three sisters. During the night he has a visitation and before he knows it, all his sisters are married off and gone away, and himself falls in love with beautiful Večernice. Now he is faced with the King's wraths and charged with a quest. The journey, however, hides obstacles and danger; not only treacherous merchants and robbers, but also a evil wizard Mrakomor...

The little mermaid rescues a prince from drowning and falls in love with him. To be with him, she makes a deal with the evil sorceress: her beautiful voice against a life on land.

There are still water spirits among us. One group lives in Prague, led by Mr. Wassermann, who is using his wife's family as a servants. All they need is their old house near the river. But the house is to be demolished. They have to stop it. And the only way is to drown Dr. Mrácek, who is responsible for the demolition. But he falls in love with Wassermann's niece Jana. He changes to fish, is mistaken for water spirit from Germany, is drowned and revived again. The other problem is the flour with ears... and so on...

Honza and Zuzana are very young husband and wife. They have a little daughter of whom willingly occasionally take care the grandparents and Honza's fifteen-year-old brother Martin. Zuzana continues studying and Honza devotes all weekends as an amateur competitor to the motor-cycles at the speedway. Zuzana is not interested in motor-cycles. Martin holds responsible for his brother's marriage and at the advice of his friend Magda, who is of the same age, invites her sister-in-law to the club of Hucul horses so that she does not feel bored. But by misfortunes and unexplained quarrels both young husband and wife start being jealous of one another.

Children from the village Bystrá are awaiting a nice and thrilling weekend. On Saturday they will play the championship football match with the nonresident boys from the village Skuhrov, on Sunday there will be the funfair with merry-go-round, swings and stalls with dainties. The members of the family of the merry-go-round man are brother and sister Janek and Zaneta Mareks whom the children have known since the last year. At that time Zaneta made friends with girls and Janek, an excellent football player, has been a welcome support of the football club.

Honza Pavelka (Jan Hrusínský) wins the junior motorbike speed races. His thirteen-year-old brother Martin (Roman Cada), his assistant and biggest fan, answers the questions of his schoolfriend Pavlína in a superior tone. Student Zuzana (Libuse Safránková), who gave her scarf to Honza to wear around his neck for the races as a talisman is Honza's girlfriend. He met her when he came to her parent's home to repair the TV set. Honza declines an invitation to celebration with his friends. He goes off with Zuzana instead, but she refuses his intimate advances. The offended young man, who is about to serve his two years in the army, tries to blackmail her emotionally and the couple breaks up. Martin tries various schemes to bring them together again.

Two gentlemen, Jack Worthing and Algernon Moncrieff, have a brilliant plan! To spice up their quiet country life and bring some excitement into it, they invent a person they absolutely must travel to. Jack creates an imaginary brother, Philip, who he uses as an excuse to travel to London to see the lovely Gwendoline. Algernon, on the other hand, has an imaginary friend, Banbury, who is constantly ill and must urgently visit him at his hospital bed. Everything starts to fall apart when Moncrieff starts calling himself Philip after visiting Worthing's young protégé, Cecilia, at her country estate. When the two gentlemen find themselves under the same roof together - it's time to discover how important it is to have Philip!

Exotic, yet lyrically aimed fairy tale about a young gypsy Pista in search of a beautiful, gentle and faithful bride. An old man told him where to find a girl with those qualities, so Pista sets out on a journey to find the girl of his dreams without knowing that she is special: an hour a day human and rest of the day a chicken...

No synopsis available yet.

Princess Terezka was a girl like a pod until the moment when Mrs. Madam took over her upbringing. The princess even cries from her etiquette. Famous doctors and their potions do not help. However, when Terezka is secretly taken from the castle by her beloved Tonek to her parents in a country cottage, her illness is over. The king promises that whoever finds Terezka and brings her back to the castle will get her hand in marriage and half the kingdom to go with it.

The years of Mánes' studies at art schools and on the period when the mature and distinctive artist was already promoting his concept of a new decoration of the Old Town Clock.

A tale based on novel by Czech writer Bozena Nemcova.

The innkeeper Barnabáš and the teacher Isidor Slovíčko succumb to the lure of old Moreles, to whom the young Taussig sends enthusiastic letters from America. They therefore set off to seek happiness and wealth in America. After saying goodbye to her beloved, the teacher Slovíčko, Terezka meets the forest maiden Jasana, who promises her that she will look after her beloved in exchange for her three hairs...

No synopsis available yet.