Šimon Holý's 'Chica Checa' Debuts at Karlovy Vary
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- Šimon Holý developed 'Chica Checa' over seven or eight years, conceiving it after a dream that channeled his relationship with his mother and his small-town upbringing, and the film now screens Saturday in the Crystal Globe Competition at Karlovy Vary Film Festival.
- Holý said he and producer Alžběta Janáčková initially didn't view the film as political, but realized during editing it was — pointing to right-wing pressure on LGBTQ+ rights in the Czech Republic and funding cuts to Czech Television proposed at 2008 levels.
- Czech Television, the second-biggest financier of Czech audio-visual industry, faces proposed changes Holý says would 'actively fight Czech cinema' — cuts that have sparked protests over editorial independence, with Czech TV among the film's co-producers.
- Pavla Tomicová stars as widow Zdena after Holý initially resisted her casting; an impromptu reading with Jan Cina convinced him in '10 seconds,' and Tomicová framed the story as one of 'otherness and being othered' rather than just coming out.
- Jan Cina, initially reluctant over typecasting fears, trained with choreographer and drag queen Just Karen and ultimately created his own drag persona 'La Chica' while preparing for the role of Lukáś/Chica Checa.
- Holý designed the film as an 'antithesis to social realism' of late-'90s and early-2000s Czech cinema — opting for a white, vibrant, yellow palette and pushing Tomicová toward expressive emotion rather than 'Euro arthouse, no facial reactions' acting.
- Pluto Film handles sales of the Silk Film production, with Arina Film, the French Connection, and Czech Television as co-producers.
Why it matters: A crowd-pleasing queer family drama arriving at Karlovy Vary while Czech Television faces funding cuts and editorial-independence protests gives distributors a politically charged but warm-toned film — exactly the kind of accessible entry point Holý argues is needed to push back against right-wing rhetoric without preaching to the converted.
