Who's Afraid of the Wolf?
Kdopak by se vlka bál

Czech Republic, 2008, 90 Minute Running Time
Genre/Subjects: Comedy, Drama, Family Issues, Fantasy, Foreign, Teen Flick
Program: Contemporary World Cinema
Language: Czech English Subtitles

DIRECTOR: Maria Procházková
Producer: Vratislav Slajer
Editor: Marek Opatrny
Screenwriter: Mária Procházková
Cinematographer: Martin Stepánek
Principal Cast: Dorota Dedková, Jitka Cvancarová, Pavel Reznícek, Martin Hofman, Jana Krausová

Terezka is a cheerful six-year-old with a rich inner life – especially compared to her real life, which is beginning to wear on her. A lonely only child, she is an attentive and curious observer – all too aware of the sometimes boring, sometimes unsettling, life of her beloved parents. Her response? Every night, she asks mother to read her Little Red Riding Hood – even though every night she has bad dreams as a result. And every day, she adds imaginative, animated flourishes to the story unfolding around her.

Terezka’s mother is a singer who gave up her career to marry. When she reconnects with an old love who remains a professional musician, jealousies and disappointments threaten the stability of the family. Terezka seeks to make sense out of these adult matters, to work out a happy ending by kindergarten standards – and as her interest in aliens grows, she begins to wonder if her mother is really her mother. Little does she realize the extent of the truth. 

As charming as the colorful drawings that decorate it, this sophomore outing by Czech writer/director Maria Prochazkova (Shark in the Head) is enhanced by fairy tale–inspired cinematography and an atmospheric soundtrack that conveys the fragile innocence of the child whose perspective it captures.

In cooperation with BouncingCzechs.US Productions