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Current AffairsCzech star of Once receives Grammy nomination for movie soundtrack

The film Once was made on a budget of 160,000 USD and has been one of the surprise hits of 2007. In America alone, it has taken over 10 million dollars at the box-office. The tale of an Irish busker and the relationship he forges with a Czech immigrant in Dublin has won critical acclaim – and now a couple of Grammy nominations as well for its soundtrack. Marketa Irglova, the Czech female lead who composed some of the songs, stands the chance of becoming the nation’s first ever pop musician to win such a prestigious award.  More

ArtsCzech and Irish leads enjoying surprise success of film Once

The Irish independent film Once has been a surprise success in the United States this year. Shot in just two and a half weeks for USD 160,000, it has taken in over 10 million at the box office since making a big splash at the Sundance Film Festival in January. Once tells the story of an Irish busker who gradually starts to fall for a struggling Czech immigrant as they begin writing music together. We spoke to the movie's stars Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova ahead of the recent Czech premiere.  More

NewsHit film starring Czech musician gets Czech premiere

ArtsOnce screening and concert among highlights of this year's Music on Film festival

One of the highlights of Prague's cultural calendar in recent years has been the Music on Film Film on Music (MOFFOM) festival. It brings together often hard to find music documentaries, and also features live concerts and other events. The 2007 MOFFOM has just got underway, and continues until Sunday. On the eve of the festival, programme director Keith Jones explained how it had changed since its inception in 2004:  More

Current Affairs2005 best film director Krauze in competition again at this year's Karlovy Vary festival

The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival will reach a conclusion on Saturday night, with the presentation of the festival's Crystal Globe awards at the grand finale at the town's Thermal hotel. So, what films in competition at the 42nd Karlovy Vary look like the most likely contenders to take the prizes this year? Ian Willoughby has been there all week, and has the answer...  More

Pick of the MonthPick of the Month

In Pick of the Month, we revisit some of the highlights in our broadcasting schedule over the last thirty days or so. Some of the things in this month's selection include a look at the significance of the Skoda industrial dispute, the life and career of the recently deceased Czech poet and philosopher Egon Bondy, Kurt Vonnegut Jr.'s surprising Czech connections, the amazing story of Prague resident Adolf Burger who forged dollars for the Third Reich, and an interview with Czech feminist scholar Marcela Linkova.  More

PanoramaAmbitious Nazi counterfeiting plot recalled by Holocaust survivor

Among the films premiered at this year's Berlin Film Festival was a German-language picture called Die Falscher - The Counterfeiter. It is based on the remarkable memoirs of Adolf Burger. Along with 140 other Jewish concentration camp prisoners, he survived the war after being enlisted to take part in an ambitious Nazi counterfeiting plot aimed at crashing the economies of the Allies. More

Czechs TodayMarketa Irglova - one of the Czech Republic's most precocious musical talents

If you have seen Jan Hrebejk's latest film "Beauty in Trouble", you would have heard several songs on its soundtrack by Glen Hansard from Irish group The Frames and Czech vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Marketa Irglova. Last year, this duo's critically acclaimed LP The Swell Season debuted in the Irish album charts at number five and was to remain in the top thirty there for several weeks. Although Glen Hansard is no stranger to such success having been a well known figure on the Irish and international music scenes since the early 1990s with his band The Frames, it was the first time his collaborator Marketa Irglova came to widespread attention. More

Current AffairsThousands attend Uherske Hradiste Summer Film School

This year's Summer Film School in the Moravian town of Uherske Hradiste had a distinctly Irish theme, showing a retrospective of over 40 movies and also hosting a number of accompanying events related to the Emerald Isle. Besides Irish films, visitors to the film school could attend workshops with Irish directors such as Alan Gilsenan and concerts by well known Irish musicians like Glen Hansard.  More

ArtsIrish rock singer Glen Hansard makes the Czech Republic his second home

The Irish rock group The Frames first played in the Czech Republic in 1996 and since then singer Glen Hansard has been a frequent visitor, both with and without the band. He included such unglamorous places as Namest nad Oslavou, Liberec and Uherske Hradiste on a recent solo tour, and he often stays in the south Moravian town of Valasske Mezirici, called Valmez for short. When I spoke to Glen Hansard after a recent concert in Prague I asked him what were his favourite things about the Czech Republic, and if his impressions had changed as he learned more about the country.  More