How challenging were the Waves from your perspective?
The most challenging thing was that on the way to the result, many people told us that it would be too expensive and too big, and that perhaps it would be enough to make some compromises somewhere. But Jirka and I knew that if it wasn’t to be just a small film, but a real blockbuster, if the strong story was to sound just as strong, we needed to work without compromises.
The most challenging part was to convince the partners, for example, that it had to be only a Czech-Slovak film without European co-productions. Although these would bring foreign financial resources, we would also have to involve foreign creative professions in the implementation. And I knew that we had a very Czech-Slovak theme, so we had to do it at home as best we could. Then possibly offer it to the world.
GLOSA: Forget Snowboarders and Grandma. The waves are crashing
Film
Among other things, the waves are convincing in that they faithfully convey the atmosphere and events in August 1968 on Prague’s Vinohradská trída, where Czechoslovak Radio was based. How did you achieve this?
I didn’t let Tank in there, but Vinohradská is in full splendor in the film. According to the script, we searched the film archives and carefully selected shots that correspond to the written scenes. And where we couldn’t find the shot in the archive, Jirka rewrote the script so that it carried the same information and emotion, but corresponded to what we found.
Photo: Jan Handrejch, Novinky
Closing ceremony of the 58th International Film Festival in Karlovy Vary on July 6, 2024, in the picture Jiří Mádl and Monika Kristl with the prize for the most successful film Waves
Then we shot the individual shots with the actors and finally called in artificial intelligence. She knows that, for example, the house in 1967 had such and such a color and the like. And he knows how to connect the black and white archival and newly filmed footage and colorize it so that it looks as if we were shooting the film back then.
How did the audience react to the film at the premiere at the Karlovy Vary festival and at several regional pre-premieres?
We feel good about it. I think they were satisfied. We went around quite a lot of places, because we are well aware that if we want people to come to the film, we have to activate them ourselves, get them off the couches and chairs.
The festival audience is people who love films so much that they are able and willing to travel to a distant city to watch them. But we would be happy if viewers who already watch films mainly at home would also come to the cinemas.
You mentioned the eventual journey of the film to the world. Have you already succeeded in this direction?
I was in Cannes, where we signed a contract with foreign agents who prepared the festival strategy. At the moment, Vlny is applying and some festivals have already confirmed their inclusion in the competitions. We will premiere, among other things, at a festival in the American Hamptons.
What about the festival in Toronto, where many Czech witnesses of that time live?
I’m well aware of that, but they didn’t want our film in Toronto, which makes me sad because of the audience there. I explain this mainly by the fact that Toronto is increasingly describing the program of the Venice festival, which is just before it. And in Venice they still don’t know the name Jiří Mádl. So we’ll get the Waves to Toronto another way.
REVIEW: Waves do not describe reality, they bring movie heroes to cinemas
Film
The waves stirred up the festival scene and won the Prava Audience Award
MFF KV
