According to the Czech Film and Television Academy (CFTA), Charlatan might try to get into the short-list for the nomination for the Best International Feature Film at the Academy Awards. CFTA had to choose between ten features and documentary films. The decision led to a film by Agnieszka Holland, the Polish director. The 93rd ceremony of the Academy Award will be held on April 25, 2021, in Los Angeles.
Charlatan was premiered at the 70th Berlin International Film Festival in February 2020 at the Berlinale Special Gala section. The domestic premiere was supposed to be held in March, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was delayed until August 2020. It showed successful results since the current box office is 34.2 million Czech crowns.
The Charlatan’s script written by Marek Epstein is based on the story of the famous Czech healer Jan Mikolášek, starring Ivan Trojan and Josef Trojan. The film has mostly neutral or positive reviews from the Guardian, Variety, and others. IndieWire included Charlatan in the list of the must-see films at Berlinale.
Last month, the European Film Festival awarded Holland as the best director. Holland holds an honorary title from the Film and TV School of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (FAMU). Her films were featured at the Cannes Film festival and Academy Awards. In 2014, she got 11 Czech Lions for the three-part series Burning Bush about Jan Palach.
Czech and Czechoslovak cinematography already has three winnes of the Academy Awards: The Shop on Main Street by Ján Kadár & Elmar Klos, Closely Watched Trains by Jiří Menzel, and Kolya by Jan Svěrák.
