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
Indigenous Access Tickets Community Access Tickets Ticket Donation Requests
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
The Leopard
Lampedusa's elegiac account of a 19th century Sicilian aristocrat, Prince Salina, fading into history is one of the pinnacles of Italian cinema, an epic which influenced the tempo and gravitas of The Godfather, Age of Innocence and The Deer Hunter.
Namesake
Powell River... named for Israel Wood Powell, a 19th century politician and a man of his time, an advocate for residential schools and the Indian Act. The Tla'amin Nation asks the city to consider changing its name, a request which sparks intense debate.
The Company of Strangers
In this Canadian gem, seven elderly women find themselves stranded when their bus breaks down in the wilderness. With only their wits, memories and some roasted frogs' legs to sustain them, this remarkable group of strangers share their life stories.
True Romance
Rockabilly comic book clerk Clarence (Christian Slater) meets dream girl Alabama (Patricia Arquette) with trouble in her wake, in this seminal couple on the run thriller from Quentin Tarantino's excitable mind.
