Fans of top-tier science documentaries should turn their attention to the Czech University of Life Sciences Prague (CZU) campus. From October 19 to 22, it will host the international Prague Science Film Fest, offering experiences tied to discovery and the realization that the world around us can look quite different from what we thought. Viewers can look forward to film premieres, discussions with filmmakers and scientists, an outdoor cinema, an exhibition opening, and even a conference that calls itself "boring." Admission is free.
In addition, moviegoers who love cinema and aren't satisfied with watching at home can enjoy what their living room screen cannot offer: staying after the films for Q&A sessions, asking the burning questions on their minds, and meeting the people behind and in front of the camera in person. Some international filmmakers will join online, making room for audience questions despite thousands of kilometers of distance.
“At the festival, we will show films that cannot be seen anywhere else in the Czech Republic. We will present Czech and world premieres, as well as a competition selection of the fifteen best science documentaries from around the world, accompanied by moderated discussions. This year, we chose 'Perspective' as the theme for the selected documentaries and the overall program. Through this, we want to highlight that truth corresponds to the chosen method and that authentic experience changes depending on where and through what eyes we look at the world—in our case, primarily through film,” says festival director Zdeněk Rychtera.
One of the main attractions will be the world premiere of Mycocosm on Tuesday, October 20 at 6:00 PM, taking the audience into the realm of fungi. Forget the simple question of whether they are growing right now—beneath our feet lies a world without which we would be quite lost in nature, yet we usually know almost nothing about it. Moving away from forests and laboratories, the film also explores how difficult it is for scientific knowledge to prevail in a world of political manipulation. This fungal network also features its own musical score by Please the Trees. The film will be presented in person by Judita Hunáková and Tomáš Větrovský.
Those who get hooked on fungi can continue on Wednesday with the film Kingdom Fungi, which the festival will present in its international and European premiere. A group of four enthusiastic mycologists follows a quest from English woodlands all the way to the Bhutanese rainforest beneath the Himalayas. The guest for the screening will be Jana Kocourková from the Faculty of Environmental Sciences at CZU.
Fascinating Wildlife Footage
A completely different perspective on nature will be offered by the Czech premiere of Gull Dynasty. Living near Canada’s largest landfill, these birds search through our trash to find food for their chicks. For them, it is home; for humans, it is a problem. Director Serge-Olivier Rondeau observes a coexistence in which our ideas of where animals belong clash with their daily struggle for survival. He will join the audience online, as will director Sugandhi Gadadhar and producer Raghunath “Rana” Belur for the Czech premiere of My Otter Diary.
And what if we help nature most by simply getting out of its way? On Wednesday, October 21 at 3:00 PM, a selected episode of the new documentary series After Mining by director Michal Gálik will make its world premiere. It takes viewers to northern Bohemia, where post-mining landscapes hold memories of disappeared villages and where a new wilderness is emerging around Lakes Most and Milada. The screening will be followed by a panel discussion featuring Markéta Seidelová from CZU among its guests.
An interesting counterpart will be presented as early as Tuesday with the world premiere of Back Under the Trees, accompanied in person by director Jan Hošek. It serves as a reminder that some forests, conversely, lack traditional management practices and that protecting nature doesn't always mean leaving it completely alone.
Believe Everything We See?
The documentary Our Brain Is Playing Tricks on Us will reveal why each of us sees a slightly different world and how easily optical illusions or card magic can deceive us. It might make viewers think twice before saying, "I saw it with my own eyes."
Another gathering will accompany the screening of Making Times Visible, featuring guests Artem Koval, Maciej Zapiór, and Ondřej Sovík. Physician Petr Hříbek will speak alongside the film André Is An Idiot, and the film The Cost of Convenience will be accompanied by Vojtěch Klinger.
“When selecting guests, I look for people who can bring a fresh perspective to a variety of topics and make them accessible to audience members who don't usually engage with them. We want visitors to take away something new from the discussions and have the opportunity to ask anything that piqued their interest during the screening. Meeting people who delve deeply into these topics can unlock new contexts and significantly enrich the whole cinematic experience,” says festival programmer Eva Suková.
Experts from the Host University Join the Program
Petr Musil from the Faculty of Environmental Sciences at CZU will present the film The Birds, while Karolína Brandlová from the Faculty of Tropical AgriSciences will present Rhino (Rhino: The Fight to Save Rhinos). The guest for the screening of Killing Time: The Science of Boredom will be Pavel Michálek from the Faculty of Economics and Management. The film Flying Scents – Of Plants & People will be accompanied by Anežka Daníčková and Slávka Procházková from the botanical garden of the Faculty of Tropical AgriSciences, while for Derek vs Derek, viewers will meet Josef Hakl and Luděk Stádník from the Faculty of Agrobiology, Food and Natural Resources.
"Boredom" in Prague
Space will also be given to topics that would likely never make it onto a real, proper conference schedule. The Boring Conference takes aim at lecture events packed with important messages and even more important speakers. Roman Kyzlink, Martin Dočkal, Lukáš Horáček, and Petr Fridrich will offer a stand-up comedy performance rooted in absurd humor, demonstrating how much fun can be hidden in seemingly banal things. This time, boredom is on the program entirely on purpose.
Those who want to enjoy cinema under the autumn night sky should arrive as early as Monday, October 19 at 8:00 PM in front of the CZU main auditorium. On the big screen, volcanoes will blaze alongside the relationship between two people who devoted their lives to them. The Oscar-nominated Fire of Love tells the story of volcanologists Katia and Maurice Krafft using their own spectacular archival footage. They loved each other as much as they loved volcanoes, walking dangerously close to study them. Bring a warm jacket—the lava will only keep you warm on screen.
Festival Awards at Stake
Filmmakers will compete for awards for Best International Science Documentary, the Student Jury Award, and the Audience Award. The main prize carries a cash reward of 50,000 CZK, meaning visitors can help decide the winner. Those who want to try their hand at filmmaking rather than judging can sign up for Wednesday’s workshop Film Lab: Ways of Seeing and Camera Work, prepared in collaboration with My Street Films.
The Prague Science Film Fest is organized jointly by the Czech University of Life Sciences Prague and Palacký University Olomouc, alongside the AFO festival team. Admission to the program is free and no longer requires festival registration; sign-ups are only needed for the filmmaking workshop. A number of screenings are also accessible to non-Czech-speaking audiences.