Canadian Premiere
In the baroque courts of 18th century Venice, the fragile egos and appetites of patrons and artists clash in the rise and fall of one of history’s greatest unsung composers, Josef Mysliveček. Steeped in the rich, decadent costumes and music of the period, and combining the searing emotional power of Amadeus and the lavish aesthetics of Barry Lyndon, Il Boemo (The Bohemian) is the platonic ideal of a period drama.
Josef, an ambitious but struggling musician trying to climb his way into the extravagant heights of operatic stardom, becomes embroiled in social intrigue and aristocratic debauchery. Obsessed with the allure of his ambitions, Josef struggles to stay true to his vocation as he falls deeper into a libertine labyrinth of hedonistic pleasures that consume his body and mind. Winding between the baroque beauty of sumptuous aria performances to the vigorous, carnal sensuality of masquerades and orgies, and the tragic weight of glory upon Josef’s shoulders, director Petr Václav has carved a tale out of history worthy of an opera itself.
Best Film, Best Director, Czech Lions 2023
A visually and musically vivid film
Screen International
Vojtěch Dyk, Barbara Ronchi, Elena Radonicich, Lana Vlady
Czech Republic/Italy/Slovakia
2022
Showcase
In Czech and Italian with English subtitles
Sexual Violence
Book Tickets
Indigenous & Community Access
Credits
Executive Producer
Klára Botlíková, Vendy Fenclová
Producer
Jan Macola, Mimesis Film
Screenwriter
Petr Vaclav
Cinematography
Diego Romero Suarez Llanos
Editor
Paolo Cottignola, Florent Vassault, Florent Mangeot
Production Design
Irena Hradecká
Director
Petr Václav
Petr Vaclav is a graduate of the Film and TV School at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague. His short Paní Le Murie (1993), received a nomination for a student Oscar. Vaclav’s film Cesta ven /The Way Out (2014) became the first Czech film to premiere at Cannes in 23 years. Vaclav’s most recent film, Il Boemo (2022) was the official submission of the Czech Republic for the Best International Film sector of the 2023 Academy Awards.
Filmography: Marian (1996); Paralelni svety (2001); The Way Out (2014); We Are Never Alone (2016); Skokan (2017)
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
Porcelain War
In Canada we cannot truly comprehend a scenario in which our country is invaded and civilians compelled to take up arms. Yet for Ukrainians, this is the reality. In Porcelain War, three artists elect to stay and fight -- with cameras, yes, and with guns.
Inay (Mama)
Bold and deeply personal, Inay investigates the emotional and psychological repercussions of Canada's Live-In Caregiver Program, which attracted Filipino women migrant workers who left their children to care for strangers out of economic necessity.
La Cocina
First day at the Grill for undocumented Mexican Estella. The work is unremitting, the melting pot is boiling, and Julia (Rooney Mara) is due to have an abortion -- to the fury of her lover, one of the chefs...
Ernest Cole: Lost and Found
Raoul Peck (I Am Not Your Negro) tells the story of South African photographer Ernest Cole, who captured some of the most vivid and compelling images of the apartheid regime in the 1960s but died in near obscurity in the USA just as Mandela was released.
Obsessed with Light
Nearly a century after her death Loie Fuller is still inspiring artists like Taylor Swift, Shakira, Bill T Jones and William Kentridge. She became world famous as an innovative dancer, combining fabric, lighting effects and movement in revolutionary ways.
