Apple Game | Hra o jablko
Vera Chytilova, 1976, 92', subtitles

London 22 April
Bristol 6 May
Edinburgh 11 May
Norwich 21 May
Bradford 29 May

A feminist comedy about a nurse who seduces a philandering doctor (Jiri Menzel) and then opts for single parenthood. As one might expect from Chytilova, itis a spirited view of the battle of the sexes that convinces by its irreverence, feminine perspective and free approach to film form. A film which caused some real controversy, although much of that derived from the presentation of a female view of sex in which physicality and farce replace euphemism and titillation.
1977 Chicago Prize

Prefab Story | Panelstory aneb jak se rodi sidliste
Vera Chytilova, 1979, 96', subtitles

London 19 April
Bradford 2 May
Edinburgh 18 May

Materialism, sex, the treatment of the old, violence and corruption are just some of the themes in Chytilovais uncompromising portrait of contemporary morality, set in a modern housing development and offering a cross-section of society from youth to old age, from TV star to house-painter. This unusually critical work focusing on the ridiculous and embarrassing proved very controversial at the time of its release. This is the nearest to Czech Socialism in the 70s as you can get.
Grand Prize in San Remo 1980

Kolya | Kolja
Jan Sverak, 1996, 101', subtitles

London 21 April
Norwich 30 April
Edinburgh 30 April and 1 May
Bristol 3 May

A drama about a middle-aged musician, a skirt chasing bachelor living a lifestyle free of responsibilities. When short of cash he agrees to a marriage of convenience with a Russian woman only to find himself responsible for her son when she emigrates to Germany. The developing relationship between him and the child is one of the charming feature of the film which otherwise provides a bleak comment on situation in Czechoslovakia occupied by Russian army.
The Oscar for the Best Foreign Language Film in 1996.