'Eternal Sunshine' and 'Bird': Days of European Film brings cinematic spring to Prague

A mushroom-hunting mystery, a heavy-metal spoof, and a sci-fi musical—the lineup for this year’s Days of European Film festival won't disappoint those with a taste for the weirdly wonderful. The 32nd edition, however, balances levity with pressing commentary, says the festival’s curator, Šimon Šafránek.

“This year’s festival showcases not only strong cinematic voices but also bold experiments that illustrate how European cinema responds to contemporary challenges and pressing social issues,” says Šafránek.

Starting in Prague on April 2, the festival’s program features narrative, documentary, and animated films, spanning comedies and dramas by seasoned filmmakers, award-winning debuts from up-and-coming directors, environmentally focused films, and movies where music takes center stage. All films are screened with Czech and English subtitles.

The festival annually presents dozens of films that are not available in regular distribution alongside discussions with filmmakers and an accompanying program that includes children’s film workshops following animated screenings and a free dance party.

Among this year's highlights are the new film Bird by British director Andrea Arnold, the musical comedy Heavier Trip by Finnish directors Juuso Laatio and Jukka Vidgren, the Venice Orizzonti-winning The New Year That Never Came by Bogdan Mureșanu, and Grand Theft Hamlet, a film entirely created within the video game of the same name by Pinny Grylls and Sam Crane.

A dedicated retrospective of French director Michel Gondry will also be part of the program. Fans can look forward to screenings of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, The Science of Sleep, Mood Indigo, and the director’s latest Maya Give Me a Title. The British Embassy will present another iconic director, Mike Leigh's, Hard Truths.

The main competition section, First Time, amplifies the voices of the youngest generation of filmmakers, bringing fresh debuts that unflinchingly explore human existence.

The striking hybrid film Winter in Sokcho by Koya Kamura blends live action with animation to tell the story of a young woman working in a South Korean coastal town whose quiet life is disrupted by a mysterious Frenchman. Lesson Learned, a social drama by Bálint Szimler that won Best Actress at Locarno follows tensions in a Hungarian elementary school where a young teacher challenges the traditional education system.

Chris Andrews' gripping thriller Bring Them Down takes audiences to a remote Irish farming community where long-standing family grudges resurface. Toxic, directed by Saulė Bliuvaitė, follows two teenage girls desperate to escape their bleak hometown in pursuit of a modeling career. The film won three awards at Locarno, including the Golden Leopard.

The intimate yet profoundly emotional drama Poison – A Love Story by Désirée Nosbusch stars Tim Roth and Trine Dyrholm as a couple who reunite at their child's grave after years apart, confronting grief and the need to move forward.

Kamila Tarabura’s Travel Essentials follows a Polish-American journalist forced to confront her past as she investigates cases of sexual abuse of young girls in Poland.

Meanwhile, The New Year That Never Came by Bogdan Mureșanu presents an interwoven set of stories from Timișoara just before Christmas 1989, as the shadow of revolution looms. The film won the Orizzonti prize at the Venice Film Festival. A Balkan Disco Party with free entry will follow the Prague screening.

Joshua Oppenheimer’s sci-fi musical The End, starring Tilda Swinton and Michael Shannon, is set in an underground bunker where a wealthy family survives an ecological disaster—until an outsider threatens their fragile stability.

The music comedy Heavier Trip, a sequel to Heavy Trip!, follows a heavy metal band’s prison break and their mission to perform at a dream festival while also saving their hometown.

Diva Futura, directed by Giulia Louise Steigerwalt, examines the rise of Italy’s adult film industry in the 1980s and 1990s, culminating in the election of porn star Ilona Staller (Cicciolina) to parliament.

Anton Alvarez’s documentary The Flamenco Guitar of Yerai Cortés delves into the turbulent family history of one of Spain’s most influential young flamenco musicians.

Another standout is the stylish documentary The Extraordinary Miss Flower by Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard (20,000 Days on Earth), which explores the artistic journey of Icelandic singer Emilíana Torrini, drawing inspiration from personal letters written in the 1960s and 1970s.

The Czech premiere of Bird, a surreal drama by British director Andrea Arnold (American Honey, Fish Tank, Big Little Lies) starring Barry Keoghan as a father preparing for marriage against his daughter's wishes, is a festival highlight. The film was selected for the Cannes competition.

The film's BAFTA-awarded casting director, Lucy Pardee, renowned for her innovative talent scouting, will introduce the screening and lead a masterclass prior to the film on April 4.

Other notable screenings include the documentary World Between Us by Marie Dvořáková which follows the meteoric rise of Czech photographer Marie Tomanová, who moved to the U.S. as an au pair and is now a photographer for high-profile campaigns from Nike, Instagram, and Vogue CS. Both the director and the photographer will personally introduce the film at its Prague screening.

Kristina Dufková’s Czech Lion-winning animated film Living Large is about a 12-year-old boy bullied for his weight who tries to turn things around by dieting and attempting to win over the girl of his dreams.

When Fall is Coming, directed by François Ozon (Swimming Pool, 8 Women, Frantz), is a meticulously crafted mushroom-hunting crime thriller set in the French countryside. The film triumphed at the San Sebastián Film Festival, winning the Jury Prize for Best Screenplay and a Best Actor award for Perr Lottin.

From Hilde, with Love by Andreas Dresen takes audiences inside a Nazi resistance group in Berlin known as the Red Orchestra during World War II.