Fenix

Caring for the sick is not an easy task, especially with the presence of inevitable death behind the corner. The observational documentary Fenix is a probe into the lives of workers who encounter death and its consequences on a daily basis. They soothe the pain of the dying - using palliative care or care for the close family and friends, by preparing individual funeral ceremonies. The camera  lens travels in the immediate vicinity of death as not a narrator but a mere observer. The film seeks solace in the eternal symbols of birds, messengers of the unspoken. Finally it comes clear that even death can bring many joyful reconciliations.

František Pecina is a student of documentary directing at FAMO in Písek. His work has undergone a dynamic development, but the main themes of his films remain social probes We Want To Fly Low (2022) and historical themes. He combines the effects of history on contemporary society in a close relationship with the landscape in the film Nettle Land (2023), which deals with the everlasting absence of inhabitans in the Sudeten Ore Mountains. For this film, he received the TV Prima Talent audience award. His latest film Fenix (2024) is an observation of workers caring for the dying and the bereaved.

The screening will be followed by a discussion with the authors.