A companion with pure dialect

22. 9. 2020, 14:26
Febiofest 2020

The pre-premiere of The Silent Companion at the Prague IFF – Febiofest has become even more of a treat. The film had been due to enter cinema distribution on 1 October but in view of the current situation its premiere has been postponed. “So you have a unique opportunity to see the film – who knows when everyone else will see it,” Agáta Kalvachová, head of the festival’s Programme Department, said, welcoming viewers.

Also welcoming viewers were the film’s producer Adéla Wernerová and director Pavel Göbl, who also wrote the book it is based on, winner of a Magnesia Litera award in 2009. “They gave me the prize for immaculate work with dialect. But in the book I made a real dog’s dinner by mixing up the Slovácko and Wallachia regional dialects. In the film you will hear pure Slovácko dialect,” said the director, adding that he had kept a close eye on actor Ondřej Malý to make sure he didn’t get word endings wrong. “The local actors could afford to say some ending differently. In their case, where they come from is audible in their melody and intonation. But if Ondra made a mistake it would be instantly clear that he’s not from there,” said the director, who himself comes from Slovácko.

In the film the protagonist played by Klára Issová returns to Slovácko, expecting a break from life in Prague. “The Silent Companion isn’t an all-out comedy as it’s presented, but that doesn’t matter. At a certain point I gave up on entertainment, so it would be film that made you think,” said Göbl.

Choose from programme


Newsletter