Introducing the Special Screenings section

Special Screenings traditionally fulfil several functions: they complement the main program, highlight special events and anniversaries and present current work influenced by film noir. Jiří Krejčík’s Midnight Mass returns to the program after four years on the occasion of its release on DVD. David Ondříček’s television project The King of Šumava: The Phantom of the Dark Land offers an updated interpretation of the story of the infamous smuggler Josef Hasil, which was given a biased treatment by Karel Kachyňa in the late 1950s (see the section on Czechoslovak noir). Prey was also made for television (and based on the novel by Emile Zola) and it will commemorate the actress Hana Maciuchová, who was one of the biggest supporters of our festival until her death in 2021. And finally, the short film Xpendables and the feature-length ragtag and Night to Be Gone prove that film noir is still a rich well of inspiration for contemporary filmmakers.