FILMS AT THE NORMAL FESTIVAL 2008
Inventura presents: Normal Festival 2008
Václav Koubek and Jarda Jeřábek in concert
Tuesday, November 11, 7:30 p.m., Aero Cinema, Biskupcova 31, Praha 3
Tickets: 140,- Kč
The opening night of the Normal Festival will begin with a festive premiere of Inventura produced films of 2008. Model clay romances and suppressed demonstrations from Trutnov, multiple accidents and an adventurous trip from Plzeň, the chalk mole drug dealer from Sušice, an Indian documentary and virtual reality from Horní Maxov and a new comic-book like film featuring the festival mascots by Jaromír Plachý from Prague – End Of The World According To The Ram. In the British section of the opening night, Lester Magoogan will personally introduce his new animated film The Office That Overslept and the OskaBright Film Festival representatives will introduce a selection of their best productions from last year. The night will be closed with a concert of Václav Koubek and Jarda Jeřábek
Alle Alle
Tuesday, November 11, 7:30 p.m., Bio Oko, Františka Křižíka 15, Praha 7Tickets: 90,- Kč
(AlleAlle / Pepe Planitzer / 2007 / Germany / 89 min / German version with English subtitles, simultaneous translation to Czech)
When Ina, a woman in her fifties, comes back from jail, she finds a thirty-five year old, constantly drunk but creative and adventurous loner Domühl in her mother's deserted house. His meeting of a sixty-six year old Hagen, a man with learning disability who mistakenly takes Domühl for his uncle after he comes from a mental institution, is an earthquake in a place where there is nothing left to be distroyed. AlleAlle is a remarkable film about responsibility, solidarity and faith in better tomorrows. It is also about the best substitute family of the year, which live in the untypical surroundings of the former biggest Russian military base in East Germany.
A Lure From Meadows
Tuesday, November 11, 9:30 p.m., Bio Oko, Františka Křižíka 15, Praha 7Tickets: 90,- Kč
(Die Heide ruft / Mirjam Mirwald / 2007 / Germany / 60 min /German version, simultaneous translation to Czech)
„I am not offering intercourse or oral sex, that is a limit which I keep and which helps me not to feel as a prostitute“, says one of the „sexual guides“ in the documentary about paid sexual services for people with various types of handicaps. In a story of three men with learning disabilities who set out to explore and satisfy their own sexual needs, the documentary ponders the role sexuality has in creating one's identity and the feeling of a full-value life in an extraordinarily open way. When such values come into question there is no place for moralizing and narrow norms. The basic motto is respect.
Reflections From The Outside plus shorts
Wednesday, November 12, 6 p.m., Aero Cinema, Biskupcova 31, Praha 3Tickets: 70,- Kč (tickets for the films and the following performace of BDS Praha 100,- Kč)
Reflections From The Outside
(Reflections From The Outside / Chris Lewis / 2006 / Austria, Germany, Cyprus / 42 min / German version with English subtitles, simultaneous translation to Czech)
The film depicts the moving story of the artist Josef Hofer, also known as Pepi, and explores both his character as well as his work as an artist. Born in the shadow of the notorious Hartheim Castle where handicapped people were systematically murdered under the genetic cleansing program during World War II, he overcame a tragic childhood spent in an isolation that was driven by his parents’ fear of him being taken away under the Nazi regime. In spite of overwhelming obstacles, he is now at the forefront of the l’Art Brut movement, having won the prestigious Euward award with his expressive depictions of male eroticism.
Hamish
(Hamish / Hannah Moon / 2008 / Australia / 7 min / English version, simultaneous translation to Czech)
Loose Contact
(Wackelkontakt / Eike Swoboda / 2004 / Germany / 28 min / German version with English subtitles, simultaneous translation to Czech)
Retro Evening: My Sweet Little Village
Wednesday, November 12, 7:30 p.m., Bio Oko, Františka Křižíka 15, Praha 7Tickets: 90,- Kč for the film, 140,- Kč for the whole evening
(Vesničko má středisková / Jiří Menzel / 1985 / Czechoslovakia / 98 min / Czech version)
A small village can hold many big life stories. Everyone has seen Otík Rákosník, Mister Pávek, Doctor Skružný and all the other heros perhaps a hundred times on TV. But when have you last seen them in the cinema? In 1985? Come to our Retro Evening to celebrate the excellent direction of Jiří Menzel and compelling performance of János Bán as Otík after twenty-three years. The whole Wednesday night in Bio Oko shall be a party of the best of Czech and world's filmmaking devoted to people for whom some things are more difficult and take more time, who have a hard time finding their bearings in the world around them and who were probably not the best in their class.
Retro Evening: Rain Man
Wednesday, November 12, 9:30 p.m.Bio Oko, Františka Křižíka 15, Praha 7Tickets: 90,- Kč for the film, 140,- Kč for the whole evening
(Rain Man / Barry Levinson / 1988 / USA / 133 min / English version with Czech subtitles)
Rain Man has long belonged to general cultural knowledge and it has been shown on TV many times. Relive with us the story of Charlie (Tom Cruise), who finds out that he has a brother and sets out for a fantastic journey. Raymond (Dustin Hoffman) is not an ordinary brother; he is an autist whose life consists of regular activities, arranged in a fixed order. Charlie finds himself driven mad by this at first, but he gradually discovers Raymond's egocentric world. The journey, they both set out for, helps them to overcome a distance between two places as well as distance between two different people. This twenty year old film is still one of the most inspirational works devoted to the life stories of people with learning disabilities.
I Am Sam
Wednesday, November 12, 8:30 p.m., Aero Cinema, Biskupcova 31, Praha 3Tickets: 90,- Kč
(I Am Sam / Jessie Nelson / 2001 / USA / 132 min / English version with Czech subtitles)
Sam Dawson has the mental capacity of a 7-year-old. He works at Starbucks and is obsessed with the Beatles. He has a daughter with a homeless woman; she abandons them as soon as they leave the hospital. He names his daughter Lucy Diamond (after the Beatles' song), and raises her. But as she reaches age 7 herself, Sam's limitations start to become a problem at school; she's intentionally holding back to avoid looking smarter than him. The authorities take her away, and Sam shames high-priced lawyer Rita Harrison into taking his case pro bono. In the process, he teaches her a great deal about love, and whether it's really all you need.
Court Jester plus shorts
Thursday, November 13, 6 p.m., Aero Cinema, Biskupcova 31, Praha 3Tickets: 70,- Kč
Court Jester
(Świat według błazna / Grzegorz Linkowski / 2008 / Poland / 27 min / Polish version with English subtitles, simultaneous translation to Czech)
A young man with a learning disability, an actor of an amateur therapeutic theatre company Nasza Lepsza, turns out to be a surprisingly watchful observer of the world and people and is able not only to comment on present events aptly, but also to reflect on his own life without illusion. His role of a court jester in a play based on The Emperor's New Suit by H. Ch. Andersen is strikingly similar to his own way of thinking in real life.
Identity
(Identita / Michal Maruška and co. / 2008 / Czech Republic)
An all-day multimedia workshop with international attendance takes place in the Aero Cinema on Wednesday, November 12, 2008. The main character Matthew will travel from Brighton to Prague and from the male into the female form right in front of the screen. The film Identity will be a short version of the whole story and at the same time the fastest created film in the history of Inventura and Normal Festival.
A Trip
(Výlet / Michal Maruška /2006 /Czech Republic /15 min / Czech version)
Germ Academy
(Germ Academy / Stephen Clarke / 2006 / UK / 5 min / English version, simultaneous translation to Czech)
The Office That Overslept
(The Office That Overslept / Lester & Wesley Magoogan / 2007 / UK / 5 min / English version, simultaneous translation to Czech)
End Of The World According To The Ram
(Konec světa podle berana / Jaromír Plachý & Inventura / 2008 / Czech Republic/ Czech version)
Normal Festival 2008 Closing Night: premiere of the film About Sex...
Thursday, November 13, 7:30 p.m., Aero Cinema, Biskupcova 31, Praha 3Tickets: 140,- Kč
About Sex...
(O sexu... / Bára Dlouhá / 2008 / Czech Republic / 13 min / Czech version, simultaneous translation to English)
Petr and Eva are quite an ordinary couple, but they are occupied by some concerns rather extraordinary for their age. Why is no one willing to undestand that they have the right for privacy and that they are not little children anymore? Let us explain it all from the beginning: a man and a woman, love, sex, children... or not, that has to be thouroughly considered. A short animated film About Sex... takes those, who are often considered to be children despite their real age and therefore do not have sufficient information or education, through the pitfalls of sexuality and intimate relationships. And as for the others, a little revision can do you no harm.
Autism: The Musical
Thursday, November 13, 7:30 p.m., Bio Oko, Františka Křižíka 15, Praha 7Tickets: 120,- Kč (the tickets are only for the theatre performance, the film is being screened for free after the performance)
Autism: The Musical
(Autism: The Musical/ Tricia Regan/ 2007/ USA/ 93 min / English version, simultaneous translation to Czech)
In 1980, autism was a relatively rare disorder, diagnosed in one in 10,000 children in the United States. Now it is one in 150. Autism: The Musical counters today’s bleak statistics with one woman’s optimistic pledge to lead a group of autistic children in defying diagnosed expectations by writing, rehearsing and performing their own full-length musical. Following five LA children over the course of six months, director Tricia Regan captures the struggles and triumphs of their family lives and observes how this musical production gives these performers a comfort zone in which they can explore their creative sides.