Ahead of the Oscar nominations being announced on January 23, where “Waves” will hope to gain recognition after being shortlisted for best international picture, the film topped the pack last week at the Czech Lion Awards – the Republic’s equivalent of the Oscars. Czech Republic – with 14 awards. Nominations.
“Waves” was mentioned in several categories, including Best Director and Screenplay for Jerry Madel. Actors Vojtěch Vodochodský, Tatiana Pauhofová, Martin Hofmann and Stanislav Majer were nominated in their respective categories.
The film was also nominated in the Craftsmanship category, including cinematography, editing, sound design, music, stage design, costume design, makeup and hairstyling.
The success of “Waves” at the Czech Lion Awards and its inclusion on the shortlist for Best International Film at the upcoming Academy Awards comes after huge success back home. After debuting at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, where it won the Best Audience Award, the film was released in Czech theaters in August, becoming the most commercially successful Czech film of the year with a gross of $5.9 million.
in diverseIn reviewing the film, critic Manuel Bettencourt wrote that “Led by its stellar ensemble, Waves crafts a brisk historical drama, the kind whose straightforward narrative is enhanced by its stylistic and narrative confidence.”
It currently ranks third on the list of highest-grossing Czech films of all time, after “Women on the Run” and “Anděl Páně 2”. Notably, the last time a Czech film was nominated in the international category for the Oscars was “Želary” in 2003, and the country received two shortlisted mentions for “The Painted Bird” and “Charlatan” in 2020 and 2021, respectively.
The national success of “Waves” and the historical account of the journalists who risked their lives to broadcast news of the Prague Spring of 1968 made the film a source of pride for the Czech people, as evidenced by its nominations for the Czech Lion.
It is worth noting that the major boom in Czech cinema occurred during the 1960s with the Czechoslovak New Wave, the same time frame in which the events of “Waves” take place. During that period, both “The Shop on Main Street” and “Closely Watched Trains” won Oscars for Czechoslovakia, while Miloš Forman’s “Loves of a Blonde” and “The Firemen’s Ball” also received nominations.
Members of the Czech Academy voted for the best films in 24 categories out of 93 films and series submitted. The 32nd annual Czech Lion Awards will be presented on March 8 in Prague.
The full list of nominations can be found here.