THE MOST BEAUTIFUL CITY IN THE WORLD
Matouš Bičák, Marie-Magdalena Kochová
BACKGROUND FILMS (Czech Republic)
Houses, where nobody lives. Stores that nobody needs. Tourists in empty stage sets.
![sarajevoff-2020 - The Most Beautiful City in The World - Graphic materials [1121805].jpg](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f2448dc0c0627144d4412a6/1596548397523-85DGRP02DN3L8WF9HCTT/sarajevoff-2020+-+The+Most+Beautiful+City+in+The+World+-+Graphic+materials+%5B1121805%5D.jpg)
Houses where nobody lives. Stores that nobody needs. Tourists in empty stage sets. This is Český Krumlov, the second most visited city in the Czech Republic. What had once been a sleepy, neglected town in the Eastern Bloc, suddenly became a crowded, unlivable area with an unbearable influx of tourists. The bitter reality of overtourism gets especially visible as KATEŘINA ŠEDÁ, a situation artist, arrives in Český Krumlov to create an unusual happening. She hires families to live a normal life for a month in the tourist-crowded heart of the town with only a handful of locals left. Families with children barbecue on the street, dry their laundry or practice yoga on a square, despite the flowing crowds of people passing by them. The conflicts between various interest groups come to light.
Matouš Bičák
MATOUŠ BIČÁK is studying documentary for a master's degree at the Film and Television Faculty of Performing Arts in Prague. He has been making films for 14 years. In 2011, he realized the series Film Wanderings through Terezín with Holocaust witnesses. He worked on one of the destinies in the feature-length documentary Toman Brod: Prague - Terezín - Birkenau - Märzbachtal - Prague (2014). In addition to directing his own works, he collaborates on projects by other directors as a director of photography.
Marie-Magdalena Kochová
MARIE-MAGDALENA KOCHOVÁ (1994) graduated from the Department of New Media at the University of West Bohemia and now is currently studying for a bachelor's degree at the Department of Documentary Film at FAMU. Her author's report, INTERLOCKER 1, won the Aramis Prize of FamuFest in 2017. Her next short film WILL THE WORLD REMEMBER YOUR NAME? was presented at the Ji.hlava IDFF 2017 in the Czech Joy section, a competition for the best Czech documentary. Two years later her last film APPARATGEIST was presented at the Ji.hlava IDFF 2019 in the same section, and was also nominated for Pavel Koutecký Award 2020.
Director’s statement
The conflicts between various interest groups come to light as well as the impact of mass tourism on the lives of the local population, or the inability of the city authorities to intervene in any way. The happening itself brings about strong negative reactions among the locals. It becomes a catalyst for a debate around this long-suppressed issue of lasting frustration and resignation of the ones involved. In the film, a small Bohemian town becomes a funny and entertaining case study of a global phenomenon unmercifully affecting the nature, markets and residents across the continents. Is it possible to find any harmony between the interests of the locals, the city council, the businesses and all the visiting tourists? Let us guide you to find out. Welcome to Český Krumlov - the most beautiful city in the world.
Where are we at?
Total Budget: 85.000,00 EUR
Financing in place: 20.000,00 EUR
Sales Agent: none
Territories available: World
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Production Company profile
BACKGROUND FILMS (Prague, Czech Republic) focuses on author-driven projects. Established in 2012 by Klara Zaloudkova and Mikulas Novotny it debuted at Karlovy Vary IFF 2015 with Tomasz Mielnik’s JOURNEY TO ROME and Martin Hruby's RESORT. The 2016 Jihlava IFF opened with their production HELENA’S LAW by Petra Nesvacilova and screened Martin Rysavy’s BLIND GULLIVER in the competition. Rotterdam IFF 2020 premiered their six-hour film essay by a Czech New Wave legend Karel Vachek Communism and the Net or the End of Representative Democracy.