Selection of Czech Oscar nominee steeped in controversy
This year’s Oscar race is steeped in controversy in Czechia. Filmmakers are calling to annul the vote for the Czech Oscar submission, criticizing a new selection process. Meanwhile, one of the year’s most popular films is under fire for allegedly basing a character on a real person and reigniting traumatic experiences for the world to see.
For the first time, the Presidium of the Czech Film and Television Academy (ČFTA) proposed three finalists to its members for voting instead of the previous free choice. The jury selected: the documentary I Am Not Yet Who I Want to Be about photographer Libuše Jarcovjáková, the road movie Caravan about a mother who sets off on a trip around Italy with her mentally disabled son, and the drama Broken Voices (Sbormistr).
It is precisely this new rule that bothers producer Jan Macola.
"We don't like the fact that the presidium did not communicate this change in any way to the Academy's membership base and directly announced the selection of three candidates to us, designating one of the films as the best candidate," explains Macola.
However, Petr Dvořák, a member of the presidium of the ČFTA, points out that members who are eligible to vote were informed of the changes. He admitted that making the recommendation was a mistake:
"In a letter addressed to all members of the Czech Film and Television Academy, we admitted that the recommendation was beyond what we should have done. It was not a fortunate move, and we apologized to all members for it and told them not to pay attention to the recommendation and to decide for themselves," Dvořák describes the situation.
Broken Voices challenged on ethical grounds
The recommended drama Broken Voices about abuse in a girls’ choir was filmed by director Ondřej Provazník together with producer Jiří Konečný. As a member of the ČFTA's presidium, Konečný was involved in changing the voting rules.
"The recommendation was a big surprise and a joy for us, but at the same time, it backfired and we are facing strong criticism. As a member of the presidium, I stand by its decision because I feel that it should act unanimously as a collective body. However, as the creators of the film, we were fine with any other voting format that would be approved," says the producer.
The film’s director also came under fire for ethical reasons. ČFTA member Radovan Síbrt raised objections in an open letter, stating that his sister, a former member of the Bambini di Praga children’s choir who had spoken out about abuse, was unwillingly pulled into the film’s storyline.
In response to the criticism, the film's director Ondřej Provazník spoke to Czech Radio, calling the fact that his main character is named after Karolina an “unfortunate coincidence”:
“Yes, it is really a coincidence. I have to say upfront that we never pretended the film was not inspired by the Bambini di Praga case; it is inspired by it in a general sense. And the case itself is real, but the stories within it are modeled and stereotyped.
“In that sense, it really is a model story created in this setting. And the story of our main heroine is not the story of Radovan’s sister, I absolutely reject that. I have never talked to her about her story and I was never inspired by it. No story in the film is the story of a specific real-life person.”
The Czech nominee to the Oscars will be made public on Monday. Up to 400 academy members may take part in the vote.
