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
The Chef & the Daruma
The inventor of the California Roll, chef Hidekazu Tojo helped bring sushi to mainstream popularity through his renowned Vancouver restaurant, Tojo's. The Chef & the Daruma is a mouthwatering film touching on immigration, identity, and reinvention.
The Remarkable Life of Ibelin
Mats Steen, a Norwegian gamer, died of a degenerative muscular disease at the age of 25. His parents mourned what they thought had been a lonely and isolated life, when they started receiving messages from online friends around the world.
The Night of the Hunter
One of the strangest and most beguiling movies you'll ever see, from a poetic, nightmarish novel by Davis Grubb, a fable about two children fleeing from a psychotic evangelical preacher (Robert Mitchum). Charles Laughton's only film as director.
Physician, Heal Thyself
One of the world's foremost experts on addiction and trauma, Dr Gabor Maté shares not only his theories, but also his own story: his difficult childhood in Hungary and his long years of therapeutic practice in and around Vancouver's Downtown Eastside.