Venerable actor and writer-director Miroslav Krobot has completed his third feature film, Big Opening. Krobot, who starred in Béla Tarr’s The Man from London [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] and headed up Prague’s beloved Dejvice Theatre, worked on the film with his usual co-writing partner, psychologist Lubomír Smékal. Together, they wrote the scripts for Krobot’s previous features, his debut Nowhere in Moravia [+leggi anche:
trailer
scheda film] and the follow-up drama The Quartette. Similarly to the television comedy series The Doom of Dejvice Theater, which Krobot directed, Big Opening is a meta-comedy set in the theatre world, starring Pavel Šimčík, an actual actor from the Dejvice, in the leading role.

Šimčík portrays an eccentric actor called Pavel Šnajdr, who faces up to his marital crisis by accepting a directing gig in a different town. Šnajdr enjoys improvisation and keeps up his acting in real life as well. He loves to put people in awkward and cringe-inducing situations. In the new town, he reunites with his grandmother (Iva Janžurová), who is also an actress and who shares his weird sense of humour. “We understand the film as a tribute to creativity and playfulness, a philosophy of life that also perceives failure and defeat as a form of inspiration. Such an attitude is represented by the grandmother. Thanks to her, at the end of the film, Šnajdr is able to look back on his story with a smile and some self-deprecation,” reveals Krobot.

“A number of new people are entering Pavel's life, especially his grandmother's sympathetic help Mikina (Iva Pazderková), who is one of the few who can accept the games that the grandmother and Pavel enjoy playing. Pavel was hired by the director of the culture house, Grunt, who is mainly a politician. He does not understand Pavel's sense of humour at all, and most of all, he is afraid for his political career,” continues the director, divulging a little of the plot line. Krobot, who stars in the comedy Somewhere over the Chemtrails [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Adam Koloman Rybanský
scheda film], which bowed recently at the Berlinale, also has a supporting role in Big Opening as Grunt, delivered in his signature, deadpan style.

Slovak cinematographer Martin Štrba, who worked with Krobot on Martin Šulík’s bittersweet comedy The Man with Hare Ears [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Martin Šulík
scheda film], lensed the film. Polish editor Jarosław Kamiński, of Jasmila Žbanić’s freshly crowned LUX Award winner Quo Vadis, Aida? [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Jasmila Žbanić
scheda film], Małgorzata Szumowska and Michał Englert’s Never Gonna Snow Again [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Małgorzata Szumowska e Mic…
scheda film], and Paweł Pawlikowski’s Cold War [+leggi anche:
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Q&A: Pawel Pawlikowski
scheda film], served as the editor.

In addition to Pavel Šimčík, Iva Janžurová, Iva Pazderková and Krobot, the cast includes Klára Melíšková, who toplines Michal Blaško’s miniseries Suspicion [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Štěpán Hulík
scheda series], which screened at this year’s Berlinale, as well as Jenovéfa Boková and Jakub Žáček. The film will premiere at the upcoming edition of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (see the news), in the Special Screenings section. Incidentally, the director’s feature debut, Nowhere in Moravia, premiered in KVIFF’s main competition back in 2015.

Big Opening is being produced by Silvie Michajlová and Ondřej Zima, of Czech outfit Evolution Films, and co-produced by Czech Television. The Czech Film Fund, the City of Olomouc, the Olomouc region and the Olomouc Region Film Office supported the film. Falcon handles the Czech theatrical release, and the local premiere has been set for 21 July.

You can watch the official trailer below: