Two movies from Farm in a Cave, with a discussion with choreographer Viliam Dočolomanský
Commander:
Director: Viliam Dočolomanský
DP: Václav Fronk
Editor: Karel Šindelář
Sound: Jiří Graf, NAPA Records
Cast: Julian Hajduk Brown, Heřman Tajovský, František Souček, Tomáš Richard Brenton, Michal Vrubel, Kryštof Brož, Kryštof Koníček, Oliver Vyskočil, Mikuláš Rychetský a další.
Presented in Czech with English subtitles
What if children spoke to each other as if they're chatting? What if their dialogues weren't fictional but taken literally from neo-Nazi chats? The film Commander publicly reveals what has so far remained hidden behind the digital curtain. It illuminates the contours of the present world in which some children live their second lives.
The film collage displays dialogues composed exclusively of fragments of real chats of the neo-Nazi group FKD, which was led by a thirteen-year-old boy operating under the nickname Commander. The film sets them in fictional situations in the real world and puts them in the mouths of actors – children. The chilling atmosphere of conversations, in which children talk publicly about sex, death and hatred, balances between absurdity, humour, fear, and horror. These little adults are – at least verbally – taking responsibility for the world and our lives. When verbal pressure and manipulation, to which children are exposed virtually, are transferred to public space and given a physical form, the resulting image raises more than one disquieting question…
Ephemera:
Directed by: Viliam Dočolomanský
Co-Directed by: Jiří Matoušek
Concept: Viliam Dočolomanský, Lucia Škandíková, Farm in the Cave
DP: Václav Fronk
Editor: Karolína Čejková
Sound: Eva Svobodová
Cast: Eliška Vavříková, Gioele Coccia, Andrej Štepita, Eleftheria Iliopoulou, Julian Hajduk Brown, Lukas Blaha, Barbora Ješutová, Barbora Nechanická, Monika Částková, Simona Dejmková, Matĕj Petrák, Karolína Grygarová, Kamila Růtová, Jakub Kohout, Eliška Řezníčková, Adéla Garabiková, Julie Kubrychtová, Omar Torrico
Production: DOX Centre for Contemporary Art; Lucerna Palace
Presented without spoken text.
Get on. We’re not stopping. We’re in this together, but separately. Moments, when we could understand, but we missed out.
Ephemera - fleeting moments. They bloom and die. Pandemic restrictions have forced us to leave the theater and create an extraordinary experience of an auditorium divided into 18 cabins and in permanent motion. From the small space of the elevator car, you catch a glimpse of the kaleidoscope of life situations happening in parallel. 6 floors, 20 performers in motion and a theatrical ride that can't be stopped.
The International company Farm in a Cave and the DOX Center for Contemporary Art in the Lucerna Palace.
Sponsored by Perform Czech/Arts & Theater Institute, Prague
Part of Rehearsal for Truth International Theater Festival honoring Václav Havel, produced by the Václav Havel Center and the Bohemian Benevolent and Literary Association.
The contemporary dance theatre ensemble Lenka Vagnerová & Company was founded in 2012 by choreographer and director Lenka Vagnerová. Every year, the ensemble creates new progressive authors' productions that carry elements of dance, physical, puppet and dramatic theatre. Through its activity it participates in the systematic development of the genre of dance theatre on domestic and world stages. Existential questions, the urgency of human relationships to other beings and surroundings, play with reality and fantasy are characteristic for the production of the ensemble. Lenka puts emphasis on the precision of theatre situations, movement qualities, supports the individuality of performers, uses the strength and dynamics of the group, looks for physical possibilities and movement limits of one's own body.
The ensemble brings together outstanding artists such as: dancers, actors, musicians, visual artists, offers professional educational background, provides residences and internships, gives space to new theatrical forms and connects outstanding artists and creators.
Lenka Vagnerová regularly runs workshops and teaches her dance method "Talk Through Your Body" in dance ensembles, theatres and schools in the international field.
The ensemble with its performances gathered during its existence a number of significant awards and nominations both in the Czech Republic and abroad, e.g.: Herald Angel Award / The Edinburgh Fringe Festival, The Best Dance Performance / The Singapore Fringe Festival, The City of Pilsen Award / Skupova Pilsen International Festival, Dance Performance of the Year, Audience Award, Dancer of the Year / Czech Dance Platform Festival, Total Theatre Award Nomination / Edinburgh Fringe Festival, several Thalia Awards, etc.
Viliam Dočolomanský is a theatre and film director and choreographer, born in Slovakia.
He studied theatre direction at the Janáček Academy of Music and Performing Arts in Brno and finished his PhD studies in theatre at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague.
In 2002 he founded the international theatre studio Farm in the Cave. In its beginnings, the company was a pioneer of physical theatre in the Czech Republic and since then it has represented the country at many prestigious festivals across 3 continents and in over 60 cities. The studio has evolved from a “theatre laboratrory” into an engaged ensemble whose authorial productions based on unexplored current topics have a significant social impact. Viliam Dočolomanský not only directs and choreographs the performances but also takes part in creating the musical score.
He led many theatre projects, workshops, and researches in the Czech Republic as well as abroad. The company has received numerous Czech and international awards, including the European Prize for New Theatrical Realities for Viliam Dočolomanský, the Total Theatre Award, The Grand Prix Golden Laurel Wreath Award, A Fringe First Award and more.
In 2018 he became the artistic director for performing arts in the DOX Centre for Contemporary Art, where he leads the dramaturgy and artistic strategies in the fields of music, dance, theatre, and performance.
ABOUT THE 2024 REHEARSAL FOR TRUTH INTERNATIONAL THEATER FESTIVAL
Rehearsal for Truth International Theater Festival, honoring Václav Havel, is a showcase of contemporary European theater organized each year in New York City. Conceived in 2017 as a shared endeavor of the Václav Havel Center (VHC) and Bohemian Benevolent and Literary Association (BBLA), the festival honors the legacy of Czech playwright, dissident and political thinker Vaclav Havel.
Each edition of Rehearsal for Truth Theater Festival addresses current sociopolitical trends in Central and Eastern Europe, offering New York audiences a unique opportunity to witness the region’s theatrical zeitgeist.
The program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council. The festival is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.