New Czech nature documentary showcases the wildlife of Prague

Do you know about the diverse creatures that live in your own backyard? Nature thrives even in the concrete jungles of the Czech capital, according to the new film Planet Prague (Planeta Praha), a new nature documentary that premieres in local cinemas next week.

The movie is a sequel to Planet Czechia (Planeta Česko, also known as Wilder Than Wilderness in English), which was released to enthusiastic reviews four years ago and is currently streaming on Netflix in the Czech Republic with English subtitles.

Following in the footsteps of the BBC's Planet Earth series, Planet Czechia showcased a vibrant array of local animals that most Czech residents never knew existed, including Czech moor frogs that turn bright blue for one day every year during mating season.

Planet Prague takes the theme of the previous movie even further to tell city residents that they don't even need to go to the wilderness to find strange and exotic animals: they can find them right in their own backyard.

"Four years ago, about 100,000 Czech viewers came to the cinema to be convinced that they don't have to travel to exotic landscapes in search of wilderness," Aerofilms' Jan Nohač states in a press release for Planet Prague.

"The creators of one of the most historically successful Czech documentaries are now going one step further to tell us: you don't even have to go to an exotic locale to find fascinating nature, and not even to the forest," adds Nohač.

Animals featured in Planet Prague include a herd of mouflon (wild sheep) that have long called the field by the Thomayer University Hospital in Prague 4 home. Native to the nearby Kunratice forest, the herd was chased out of their habitat by hunters with dogs decades ago, and has now found an unlikely home with mankind. 

Planet Prague also includes the story of the invasive nutria, which escaped a fur farm and now reside by the Vltava river in Prague's city center. Now, they clash with the river's moorhens over food.

"Basically, you just have to look out the window, go to the streets, or to the park. Or to a sewage treatment plant, to a heating plant, to an abandoned stadium, to a landfill... Nature is all around us, full of secrets, adventures, surprises, and endless cuteness."

Planet Prague premieres in Czech cinemas from Thursday, August 4. The film is in Czech, but look for an English-subtitled version to pop up at city center cinemas such as Edison Filmhub or Kino Světozor in the near future.