Vlk z Královských Vinohrad

Czech director John Jan is furious at Jean-Luc Godard since the latter prevented Jan's film from winning an award at Cannes. When Godard supports the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia, Jan's fury knows no bounds. Subsequently he emigrates to the West, where nobody has heard of his films: he searches for affluent sponsors, even stumbling upon the idea of asking a certain Donald Trump for help, before reconciling himself to keeping his head above water with commissioned films. 1989 arrives and he is finally allowed to return home, where (long-)overdue awards await. Based on events from Němec's life and times, his fate was typical for the times with its oscillations between past and present, reality and fiction. The fact remains that, as was the case with Němec, many artists and intellectuals were forced into exile. Promising careers often turned to nothing, whilst hopes of a new intellectual homeland floundered due to the chasm between leftist ideas in the East and West. CF