Jiri Madl’s drama ‘Waves’ (‘Vlny’) has made the shortlist of 15 nominees for the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, published yesterday by the organisers of the world’s most prestigious film awards.
It is the first time a Czech film has been on the list since Agnieszka Holland’s ‘Charlatan’ in 2021.
If ‘Waves’ advances to the final Oscar nominations, which will be announced in one month, it would be the first such achievement for a Czech film in 20 years. Since the establishment of the Czech Republic, Jan Hrebejk’s ‘Divided We Fall’ (Musime si pomahat; 2000) and Ondrej Trojan’s ‘Zelary’ (2003) have both made it to the nomination shortlist, while Jan Sverak’s ‘Kolya’ won the international Oscar in 1997.
Set in the late 1960s, ‘Waves’ is inspired by the true story of a group of journalists from the international desk at Czechoslovak Radio, and their determination to report independent news at any cost. Madl, the film’s author and director, worked with the personal recollections of the original staff of the newsroom, who appear in the film under their real names. In addition to Jiri Dienstbier, played by Vojtech Kotek, these include Vera St’ovickova (played by Tatiana Pauhofova), Lubos Dobrovsky (Martin Hofmann), Jan Petranek (Petr Lnenicka) and Milan Weiner (Stanislav Majer).
In addition to the Czech film, the American Academy shortlist also includes films from several other European countries and the Palestinian documentary ‘From Ground Zero’. The clear favourite in this year’s international category is the French musical ‘Emilio Perez’, set in the drug trade. The film, directed by Jacques Audiard, was recently named European Film of the Year and picked up ten Golden Globe nominations.
The winners of the 97th Academy Awards will be announced as is traditional in a ceremony in Los Angeles on the night of 3 March.
