Skokan

fiction / 2017 / Czech Republic, France / col. / 94 min.

Director: Petr Václav
Screenplay: Petr Václav
Photography: Štěpán Kučera, Priscila Guedes, Petr Václav
Editor: Florent Mangeot
Cast: Julius Oračko, Klaudia Dudová, Zdeněk Godla, Karidja Touré, Julia Artamonov, Milan Cifra, Gigio Suffre, Maurizio Bucci

Director Petr Václav calls Skokan a documentary film with fairy-tale aspects, mainly because of its emphasis on authenticity in telling the fictional tale of a Romani recidivist in search of career opportunities at the Cannes film festival. The main character is played a by real ex-con, Julius Oračko, whom the filmmakers got out of prison on parole shortly before the start of filming. The film was shot with just a rough script, which was fine-tuned on the set. The scenes from Cannes were shot during the festival. The ending, which recalls the liberation of an enchanted princess, again feels like a fairy tale. – “We improvised most of the scenes during filming – we used the places we were able to get into and the light that was available. Above all, I tried to capture the experiences of the main character,” (P. Václav) (source: IDFF Ji.hlava)