SO FAR FROM MIKULOV
Director: Marie Dvořáková
Producer: Pavel Berčík
Editor: Jana Vlčková
Production company: Evolution Films
Czech Republic, Slovakia, United States I 75 min
A small-town photographer from Europe takes New York by storm. But at what price?
Young Czech immigrant MARIE changed her artistic field, appearance and broke through in the extremely competitive environment of the New York photography scene. Because she met THOMAS. The film follows a three-year phase in the personal and professional lives of Marie and Thomas, partners in work and life – their passion for and obsession with art, their fearlessness to make their vision a reality, and the boundless effort that requires. The film is a testimony to the moments that shape young artists' careers, with all the uncertainties they must overcome to make their dreams come true.
MARIE DVOŘÁKOVÁ / IMDB
MARIE DVOŘÁKOVÁ is a Czech-born filmmaker based in New York. She is the winner of the Student Academy Award for her short film WHO'S WHO IN MYCOLOGY. Her work was shortlisted for the AICP Show at MoMA and Cannes Young Director Award Show. Between 2016 and 2019, Marie ran an art house cinema located at the historic Bohemian National Hall in Manhattan. She also gained experience in 2D/3D animation and motion graphics working as a creative director at the animation studio The Studio NYC. She holds film degrees from FAMU and NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts.
Director’s statement
I started working on SO FAR FROM MIKULOV in 2018, when Marie Tomanova was preparing her first photography exhibition. I was living and working in New York at the time. A friendship formed between us, two Czech women in a foreign country, and over time I gained exclusive access to MARIE and THOMAS‘ lives. I was able to get beneath the surface and uncover the individual layers of their personalities, their partnership, and Marie‘s work. To make this film I have opted for the long-term observational method with emphasis on powerful visual storytelling. I had almost unlimited access to Marie‘s life - we have established a relationship of trust. Over the past three years, I have accompanied her almost everywhere with my camera. I wanted to show, without hyperbole, all that professional victories entail and what one must endure to achieve them. How much effort is required and how much is hidden behind just one single published photograph, on the page of a prestigious magazine?
PAVEL BERČÍK
PAVEL BERČÍK graduated from the Prague film school FAMU. In 2006 he cofounded production company Evolution Films and in 2013 other production company FILM KOLEKTIV. Pavel produces international projects and co-productions (AMUNDSEN, 2019), high-quality Czech documentaries, such as DOGGY LOVE (2020) or Olga Sommerova’s documentaries (CERVENA - Czech Lion for Best Documentary in 2017) and children TV series and movies (THE WATCHMAKER'S APPRENTICE, 2019). Pavel is a member of ACE Producers network, Czech Film and TV Academy and in 2010 he was a Producer on the Move at the Cannes Film Festival.
Where are we at?
Production budget: 389.462,00 EUR
Needed for completion: 100.000,00 EUR
Territories available: Europe (Germany, France, Italy, Great Britain, Switzerland, Portugal), North America, South America, Australia, Asia
Looking for at CineLink?
Sales Agent, pre-sales, US distributor, US broadcaster
Production company profile
Founded in Prague in 2006, Czech production company EVOLUTION FILMS, produces feature films (BIG OPENING, 2022, directed by Miroslav Krobot), TV series, documentaries (regular cooperation with Olga Sommerova, CERVENA, 2017, Czech Lion for Best Documentary Film, or THE MAGIC VOICE OF A REBEL, 2014; FILM SPA, 2015, directed by Miroslav Janek, Best Television Documentary or Series Czech Lion award), music videos, animation and projects for various Czech TVs.