Witches from Suburbia

Country

Czechoslovakia

Copyright

1990

Production year

1990

Premiere

1 June 1991

Runtime

81 min

Category

film

Genre

children, comedy

Typology

featuretheatrical distributionlong

Original title

Čarodějky z předměstí

Czech title

Čarodějky z předměstí

English title

Witches from Suburbia

Working title

Nechte to koňovi

Summary

The discovery of a book of spells enables two young girls to save a house inhabited by their two beloved aunts Ema and Lída. Young Petra and Veronika are huge animal lovers and their aunts are rearing a dog named Míša and a horse called Toník in their garden. But the house is threatened by a new construction project. One option for saving this island of tranquility is to transform a small lime tree into an older, and thus protected, tree. The girls manage to hone their skills at casting spells, transforming dog Toník into a bronze statue... They fare better in their battle with the greedy Mrs. Boháčková and her annoying brood of children. This modern fairytale film full of magic is directed by Drahomíra Králová and was released in 1990. Lucie Čechová plays Veronika; the young actress also starred in two other Králová-directed films, namely Potkal jsem ho v zoo (I Have Met Him at the ZOO, 1994) and Artuš, Merlin a Prchlíci (Arthur, Merlin and the Prchlics, 1995). The band of aunties is portrayed by actresses Dana Syslová and Marie Tomášová, whose return to the screen in the role of Ema follows an eight-year absence as a “blacklisted” actress.

Synopsis

Two schoolmates since first grade, Petra and Veronika, live on a housing estate with their parents. They love animals and try to help aunt Ema who lives in a small house with her sister Lída, a horse called Toník and Míša the dog. The house has a yard, a well, an outhouse and a big garden. Lída learns from the cleaning lady Boháčková that the house is going to be pulled down. The teacher František who woes Ema finds out at the construction office that the house could be saved if an old and protected tree grew in the garden. Petra finds an old book in the papers put aside for recycling. She thinks that it is a cookbook and tries to make a meal from one recipe. But it turns out that the "cookbook" is a sorcerer's book through which people and things can be made larger and smaller, changed into other creatures but also the live horse Toník can be turned into a bronze sculpture. At school, the girls meet the evil Mrs Boháčková, her lying son Marcel and her spoiled daughter Ilonka. The magical powers, however, punish Boháčková. When she seizes the magic potion of the little witches assuming that the bottle contains wine, she and the rest of her family turn into toadstools. The girls succeed in turning a small linden tree in the garden of the aunts Ema and Lída into a big spreading tree, and the house can thus be preserved. The wedding of František and Ema is then celebrated under the linden. The girls want to give the aunt the sorcerer's book as a gift, but the book is seized by Ilonka Boháčková who is the only one from the family who remained in her human form.

Film online

Cast

Dana Syslová

teta Lída, listonoška

Rudolf Pellar

učitel František

Lenka Skopalová

Voice by Lenka Termerová
matka Veroniky

Oldřich Vízner

otec Veroniky

Jitka Asterová

matka Petry

Ivan Řezáč

otec Petry

Markéta Světlíková

uklízečka Boháčková

Jan Hraběta

Boháček

Alžběta Sinajová

Ilonka, dcera Boháčkových

Jakub Lukeš

Marcel, syn Boháčkových

Linda Rybová

Hanka, sestra Veroniky

Dana Hlaváčová

Voice by Miriam Kantorková
majitelka psa Gábi

Alena Karešová

ředitelka školy

Pavel Nový

závozník

Zdeněk Srstka

jeřábník

Lukáš Sluka

Michal

Jiří Sejk

strážmistr

Luďa Marešová

starší učitelka

Lucie Juřičková

mladá učitelka

Crew and creators

Second Unit Director

Viktor Walter

Assistant Director

Lucie Minaříková, Magda Vodičková

Screenstory

Květa Kuršová

Director of Photography

Miroslav Čvorsjuk

Second Unit Photography

Ladislav Chroust

Camera Operator

Václav Zajíček

Production Designer

František Vokřál

Assistent Production Designer

Borek Strádal

Set Designer

Jaroslav Pospíšil, Josef Večerek, Miloslav Dvořák

Film Editor

Dalibor Lipský

Sound Designer

Tomáš Potůček

Production Manager

Pavel Nový

Unit Production Manager

Lenka Jandová, Miloslav Doležal

Unit Production Manager

Roman Kincl

Consultant

Jaroslav Tomsa, Rudolf Bareš

Cooperation

Michal Fairaizl (fotograf), Josef Staněk (práce se zvířaty)

Music

Music Composed by

Jaroslav Uhlíř

Music Performed by

FISYO (Music Conducted by Mario Klemens), Orchestr P. Nikla (Music Conducted by Mario Klemens)

Songs

Čarodějky z předměstí

Song Composer Jaroslav Uhlíř
Writer of Lyrics Zdeněk Svěrák
Singer dětský sbor Sedmihlásek

Pod našima okny teče vodička

Song Composer lidová píseň
Singer dětský sbor SedmihlásekRudolf Pellar

Production info

Original Title

Čarodějky z předměstí

Czech Title

Čarodějky z předměstí

English Title

Witches from Suburbia

Working Title

Nechte to koňovi

Category

film

Typology

featuretheatrical distribution

Genre

children, comedy

Origin country

Czechoslovakia

Copyright

1990

Production Year

1990

Premiere

premiere 1 June 1991 /suitable for youths/

Studio

Barrandov

Distribution

Lucernafilm

Creative Group

4. tvůrčí skupina, Marcela Pittermannová (vedoucí 4. tvůrčí skupiny), Jan Janda (vedoucí produkce 4. tvůrčí skupiny)

Technical info

Duration typology

feature film

Duration in minutes

81 min

Distribution carrier

35mm

Aspect ratio

1:1,37

Colour

colour

Sound

sound

Sound system/format

mono

Versions

Czech

Dialogue languages

Czech

Subtitles languages

without subtitles

Opening/End credits languages

Czech

Awards

Vítěz

Festival: Mezinárodní festival filmů pro děti Tel Aviv

1993
Tel Aviv / Israel

Vítěz

Festival: 18. mezinárodní festival filmů pro děti Frankfurt nad Mohanem

1992
Frankfurt nad Mohanem / Federal Republic of Germany

Vítěz

Festival: 18. mezinárodní festival filmů pro děti Frankfurt nad Mohanem

1992
Frankfurt nad Mohanem / Federal Republic of Germany

Vítěz

Exhibition: 8. berlínské dny dětského filmu Berlín

1992
Berlín / Federal Republic of Germany

Vítěz

Exhibition: 23. národní přehlídka filmů pro děti Ostrov

1991
Ostrov nad Ohří / Czechoslovakia
Lucie Čechová

Vítěz

Festival: 31. festival filmů pro děti Zlín

1991
Zlín / Czechoslovakia
Lucie Čechová

Vítěz

Exhibition: 23. národní přehlídka filmů pro děti Ostrov

1991
Ostrov nad Ohří / Czechoslovakia
Tereza Fliegerová

Vítěz

Festival: 31. festival filmů pro děti Zlín

1991
Zlín / Czechoslovakia

Vítěz

Festival: 7. mezinárodní festival filmů pro děti a mládež Isfahán

1991
Isfahán / Iran
Tereza Fliegerová

Vítěz

Exhibition: 23. národní přehlídka filmů pro děti Ostrov

1991
Ostrov nad Ohří / Czechoslovakia

Vítěz

Festival: 7. mezinárodní festival filmů pro děti a mládež Isfahán

1991
Isfahán / Iran
Lucie Čechová

Vítěz

Exhibition: 23. národní přehlídka filmů pro děti Ostrov

1991
Ostrov nad Ohří / Czechoslovakia

Vítěz

Festival: 31. festival filmů pro děti Zlín

1991
Zlín / Czechoslovakia
Tereza Fliegerová