Skip to main content
Island of Freedom film image, director Petr Januschka

Island of Freedom

Ostrov svobody

North American Premiere

It’s 1981 in Czechoslovakia, and a young man surprisingly reunites with his teen love on board a charter flight to Cuba. A delightful romantic period piece that captures their growing reconnection perfectly as well as the mood of the time under communist rule. With every answer, glimpse, or unintended touch, their old bond comes alive again, but little do they know that soon, they will be facing what might be the most difficult decision of their lives. Great period details, a smart script, and wonderful performances by the two leads make this little trip just zip along. One set, two seats, two people. In essence, that is what this film is, but it packs a lot into the container. Thought-provoking with a complicated ending.

 

Community Partner

Director
Cast

Jiří Mádl, Judit Bárdos, Gustav Řezníček, Tereza Dočkalová, Viktória Pejkov, Aneta Klimešová, Julie Stříbrná

Credits
Country of Origin

Czech Republic

Year

2022

Language

In Czech and Slovak with English subtitles

Film Contact
27 min

Featured in:

Island of Freedom film image, director Petr Januschka

International Shorts: Connect/Disconnect/Reconnect

The films in this shorts program are all about connections. People connecting with one another, dealing with change, or rediscovering a part of themselves and their past.

 

MORE INFO

Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre

Islands

Dir. Jan-Ole Gerster
123 min

In this sly, engrossing mystery, a dissolute English tennis coach in a Canary Islands holiday resort falls under suspicion when the husband of a beautiful guest disappears after a night of heavy drinking...

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

Holding Liat

Dir. Brandon Kramer
97 min

An intimate, moving film about the parents of one of the Oct 7 Jewish hostages taken by Hamas, and their campaign for a speedy, peaceful resolution to the crisis. Winner: Best Documentary, Berlin Film Festival

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

L'Étranger

Dir. François Ozon
122 min

Recreating 1940s Algeria in vivid, high contrast black and white cinematography, L'Etranger is erotic, enigmatic and brutal in equal measures, a masterful screen version of Albert Camus's insoluble classic of existential alienation.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

The Chronology of Water

Dir. Kristen Stewart
128 min

Kristen Stewart's fearless directorial debut is based on the best-selling memoir by Lidia Yuknavitch (Imogen Poots), a chronicle of her abusive childhood, traumatized adulthood, and escapes through swimming, drugs, sex, and ultimately writing.

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

All That's Left of You

Dir. Cherien Dabis
145 min

Jordan's submission for the Academy Awards, All That's Left of You makes the most of its epic format to chronicle seven decades of Palestinian history while tracking the psychological impact of cycles of exile and oppression on three generations.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

askîwan ᐊᐢᑮᐊᐧᐣ

60 min

Through live cinema, music and nehiyawewin song, askîwan ᐊᐢᑮᐊᐧᐣ reveals how land remembers — and how, even amid ecological crisis, the earth continues to sing through us.

Roundhouse Community Arts & Recreation Centre

Credits

Producer

František eF. Horvát

Screenwriter

Petr Januschka

Cinematography

Filip Blažek

Editor

Josef Erla

Original Music

dné

Art Director

Alojz Vyšlan

Director

Petr Januschka headshot, Island of Freedom director

Petr Januschka

Petr Januschka is a Czech director and screenwriter who studied at Tomas Bata University in Zlin. His student shorts earned him several international awards and were screened in Brussels, Cottbus, and Beirut. Most notable is his tragicomic documentary The Last Prior (2017), about the remnants of socialist culture in Czech Republic. Januschka is currently a PhD student at Tomas Bata University and also works as a commercial director. He has received two Effie Awards for his commercial work.