The main characters of Hostage /Jak jsme hráli čáru are 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 a few years before the Prague Spring and the occupation of Czechoslovakia. The story encompasses first contacts with the bizarre and absurd reality of relationships and attitudes of adulthood, politics, emigration, but also betrayal and death, investigating the way all those things transform the lives of boys forced to grow up too quickly.
"The plot goes back to the period of '68, but it’s a universal story describing how children imitate the actions of adults. The project resumes the classic Slovak and Czechoslovak films about children, which disappeared for more than 20 years," Eva Horváthová from Alef Film Media told FNE.
The film was produced by Marian Urban through Slovakia’s ALEF Film & Media in coproduction with the Czech Television Filmové Ateliéry, Slovakia’s RTVS, Un Film, and Filmpark Production. It was supported by The State Cinematography Fund Czech Republic, Slovak Audiovisual Fund and The Ministry of Culture of the Slovak Republic.
The cast includes famous Slovak and Czech actors like Marian Labuda, Milan Lasica and Libuše Šafránková. The Slovak distributor is Barracuda Movie while the Czech distributor is CinemArt. The film was nominated for Czech Lions in four categories.
Production Information:
ALEF Film & Media (SK)
Mliekarenská 11
821 09 Bratislava
Slovensko
Tel: +421 2 20 90 26 48
www.afm.sk
Filmové ateliéry
Ateliéry Bonton Zlín a.s.
Filmová 174
760 01 Zlín
Czech Republic
Phone.:+420 577 592 470
Phone/Fax: +420 577 592 292
http://www.ateliery.cz
Unfilm
Drotárska 29
811 02 Bratislava
Phone: +421 903 229 446
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
www.unfilm.sk
Filmpark
Ružová dolina 19, 821 08 Bratislava, Slovakia
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Phone: +421 918 765 108
http://www.filmpark.sk
Česká Televize
Kavčí hory
140 70 Praha 4
Tel: +420 261 131 111
e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
www.ceskatelevize.cz
Credits:
Directed by Juraj Nvota
Scriptwriters: Peter Pišťanek, Marian Urban
DoP: Marek Diviš
Cast: Milan Lasica, Libuše Šafránková, Richard Labuda, Ondřej Vetchý, Szidy Tobias, Miro Noga, Ondřej Malý