Karel Zámečník

A look at the legendary Czech sound designer and his profession. Editor and documentary filmmaker Adéla Špaljová has her father Ivo Špalj talk about his life, career, and working methods. Over the course of his long life, sound designer Ivo Špalj (*1940) has collaborated on hundreds of films and become a mentor for at least one generation of men and women behind the mixing board. This gentle documentary also shows “Engi” (as he is known to his colleagues) again working with Jan Švankmajer, whose films he has lent their typical, dense, and sophisticated sound mix.

The story of František, a selfish yet loving man who made his living as a musician on ocean cruise ships. He gradually became estranged from his family and ended up alone. On the advice of friends, he sets out to find his daughter in the village of Svatá Helena, a thousand kilometers away in the Romanian Banat region. Meeting people who live in harmony with God and nature and searching for his daughter, who has not been in touch, eventually reconciles František with the idea that he fears so much with advancing age: that he will live out his life in exile and solitude. However, things take an unexpected turn...