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
There's Still Tomorrow
A critical and box office sensation in Italy, Paola Cortellesi's triumphant directorial debut is the tale of a Roman housewife in 1946, who stands up against the routine sexist abuse she suffers. Funny, heartbreaking and inspiring.
The Way, My Way
All manner of pilgrims flock to France and Spain to walk the 800 km Camino de Santiago. One such is Bill, a stroppy sexagenarian Australian filmmaker who's determined to do the Camino with minimal prep, a dickey leg, and no firm idea why.
The Stand
This rousing doc explores a 1985 dispute over logging in the Haida Gwaii. Taking us from canny retrospective commentary to the thick of the action, director Chris Auchter employs animation and a wealth of archival footage to riveting effect.
Resident Orca
Captured in Puget Sound in 1970, killer whale Lolita spent the next half century in a cramped tank in Seaquarium, Miami. The film follows a coalition of Lummi elders, animal lovers and philanthropists on a rescue mission to return her to the ocean.
No Other Land
Deemed by many critics one of the essential films of 2024, a multiple festival award winner and Academy Award winner for Best Documentary, No Other Land is a reminder that mass expulsion is by no means a new reality for Palestinians.
Misericordia
Edgy, eccentric, and unapologetically queer, this film goes from drama to comedy without putting a foot wrong. Sex and murder are the subjects, and writer-director Alain Guiraudie (Stranger by the Lake) mines them for suspense and outrageous laughs.