The Other One

Eighteen-year-old Johana wants to leave her hometown. She wants to graduate from high school and go to university. However, her final year of school is more challenging for her than for her classmates. She plays an irreplaceable role in her family - helping to take care of her younger sister, who has a disability. Despite all the love, she has to break free from everyone‘s expectations, find her own space, and escape her sister‘s shadow.
Johana is what is known as a glass child, unintentionally overlooked by her overburdened parents and the rest of the world. Can she overcome her doubts and feelings of guilt and dare to put herself first? This observational documentary film explores the long-neglected issue of healthy siblings in families caring for children with special needs. This intimate film gives a voice to everyone who has ever felt like the other one.

Marie-Magdalena Kochová is a Czech director based in Prague. She graduated from New Media in Pilsen and Documentary Film at FAMU in Prague. Her short film Apparatgeist (2019) was granted the Special Mention at the Ji.hlava IDFF. Her next short film Shells (2022) premiered at Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, competed at Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival, was selected to The Hottest Shorts of Hot Docs and won The Best International Student Film Award at Cinedans Film Festival Amsterdam. Her short fiction film 3 MWh (2024) premiered at International Film Festival Rotterdam 2024 in Tiger Short Competition. Her work focuses on personal and social themes through documentary and fictional forms and she is currently working on her documentary feature film The Other One.

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