"Ve stinu": Czech Best Film Award

On the set of Ve stínu (W cieniu / In the Shadow). Photo by Kamil Czaja Centrala

Ve stínu (Polish title: W cieniu, English title: In the Shadow), directed by David Ondříček and made in co-production between the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia, received a total of nine 2012 Czech Lion awards. The film had been co-financed by the Polish Film Institute.

Nine Czech Lion Awards

David Ondříček’s film Ve stínu (W cieniu / In the Shadow), co-financed by the Polish Film Institute, received the Czech Lions awards of the Czech Film Academy in a total of nine categories: Best Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Actor (Ivan Trojan), Best Music Score, Best Sound, Best Editing, Best Production Design, and Best Cinematography, the last of these being awarded to Polish cinematographer Adam Sikora.

Other Awards

In the Shadow also won the award for Best Film Poster and the award of the Czech film critics. The film’s leading actor Ivan Trojan was voted Best Czech Actor by users of the seznam.cz website.

In the Shadow

The film is set in Prague in 1953. Actor Ivan Trojan plays the role of a police detective investigating one of many burglaries. His investigation is assisted by a specialist from Eastern Germany. Over time, it turns out that this seemingly simple criminal case has in fact a political context.

Polish Filmmakers Involved

The film’s Polish producer is Centrala Sp. z o.o. The entire camera department was from Poland: director of photography Adam Sikora, camera operators Rafał Paradowski and Tomasz Woźniczka, 1st assistant camera Henryk Jedynak, and camera production assistant Magda Symonowicz. The award for production design also saw input from Polish professionals: production designer Marek Warszewski, assistant production designer Wojciech Czapla, propmaster Eryk Zuberek, and set constructors Piotr Augustyniak and Michał Pietrzak.

Film Supported by the Polish Film Institute

Part of the film was shot in Lower Silesia and in Łódź. Postproduction was done at Alvernia Studios. The film was co-financed by the Polish Film Institute and by Regional Film Funds in Wrocław, Krakow and Łódź.

Recognition from Czech Film Critics

Earlier this year, In the Shadow received awards of the Association of Czech Film Critics in the following categories: Best Film, Best Actor, Best Director, Best Music Score, and Best Cinematography (Adam Sikora).

Czech Lions

The Czech Lions are the Czech Republic’s equivalent of the Polish Film Awards (Eagles). The jury members are members of the Czech Film and Television Academy (CFTA). This year marked the 20th edition of these awards.

Further details about the Czech Film Awards are available at www.kinobox.cz.

The official website of In the Shadow: intheshadow.pl.

Paulina Bez

Translated by Karolina Kołtun