Czech Dream/Český sen

Thursday | May 31 | 8 pm

Czech Republic | 2004 | 87 minutes | directors: Vít Klusák, Filip Remunda | director of photography: Vít Klusák | editor: Zdeněk Marek |

An unconventional project of two FAMU students Vít Klusák and Filip Remunda employed the curiosity of Czech society with its theme as well as demand for its creation. The directors managed to create a mass advertisement campaign for a product which actually did not exist, however it appeared to be real thanks to the agency responsible for the precise propagation of unbelievably convenient goods. All customers were lured by them into a mall, wittingly called “Czech Dream”, supported by slogans of figurative meaning: “Don’t spend”, ”Don’t hustle”, or “Surprise for everyone” . Even though many people had found the attractiveness of the Czech Dream mall offers rather suspicious, only a few of them would have missed the opportunity to be amongst the first ones to see their consumer dream themselves, personally, at the climax of the campaign – the opening day of the new mall. Only the directors, and later also the movie spectators, knew that the tension and expectation was supposed to be interrupted and interchanged by disillusion, disappointment, and also anger.

The campaign led by two new-born fake managers – the directors themselves, provided material for the movie Czech Dream released exactly one year after the unique opening day. Although the point was already exposed, the final point of view was to be completed, and yet expressed. The movie, which tracks the whole process of the creation of the fake promotion, as well as the reflection in the media and opinions of the public, combines features of a documentary with reality show. Spectators are shown how the PR agencies work, the different specialists employed for an advertisement to work effectively, or how an image of a product influences our reception thereof. We can see the directors/actors discovering this machinery with us, for us, and by using us. People took part in the movie from the moment they saw the promotion on billboards or flyers, while as viewers of the movie, take part in the example conspiracy against themselves. This distorted reality was created to manipulate, to elect discussion, and to shoot the documentary as the final product of filmmakers who managed to express themselves in a style that might not be moral, appropriate, or even acceptable. However, the newly coined term “Czech dream” tells us to be cautious of any naïve expectations.

Ondřej Kuhn