Short film
Nominated short documentaries
9. 2. 2026
21:00
The short film category of the 20th anniversary edition of the Pavel Koutecký Award presents five distinctive short films made by Czech directors over the past year, offering diverse perspectives on the world around us as well as on individuals’ inner experiences.
The documentary essay What If We Run Out of Stones? by director Nora Štrbová works with an unconventional perspective of "lifeless" nature, which she gently brings to life through 35mm footage. Mariana Petřáková's Womb+ depicts everyday life with endometriosis and sensitively points to the broader context of systemic failures in the approach to women's health. Jana Hunterová's The Landscape of Human Essence, on the other hand, turns to silence and seclusion–in the inhospitable landscape of the Macedonian mountains, she seeks space for inner peace and freedom. In the animated documentary Better Man, Eliška Jirásková follows three young men who, each for different reasons, share an intense relationship with fitness and working with their own bodies. The fifth film Flares by director Jáchym Bouzek, is a personal reflection on a near-death experience, the loss of anchorage in reality, and a gradual return.
Better Man (dir. Eliška Jirásková, Czechia, 2025, 6 min)
Flares (dir. Jáchym Bouzek, Czechia/France, 2025, 5 min)
The Landscape of Human Essence (dir. Jana Hunterová, Czechia/North Macedonia/Great Britain, 2025, 14 min)
What If We Run Out of Stones? (dir. Nora Štrbová, Czechia, 2025, 7 min)
Womb+ (dir. Mariana Petřáková, Czechia, 2025, 10 min)
Flares (dir. Jáchym Bouzek, Czechia/France, 2025, 5 min)
The Landscape of Human Essence (dir. Jana Hunterová, Czechia/North Macedonia/Great Britain, 2025, 14 min)
What If We Run Out of Stones? (dir. Nora Štrbová, Czechia, 2025, 7 min)
Womb+ (dir. Mariana Petřáková, Czechia, 2025, 10 min)
Screening will be followed by Q&A with the authors.
