The work of CaSFFA is largely conducted on the Kulin nation’s unceded lands, including the Wurundjeri and Boonwurrung peoples and the Yorta Yorta nation. Many of you will likely be experiencing CaSFFA 2023 from Naarm or Kaurna lands. Wherever we are located, we pay our respects to all Elders past, present, and emerging and recognise these peoples as part of the oldest continuous culture in the world.
Welcome to the 11th Czech and Slovak Film Festival of Australia. Taking place in October in Melbourne and November in Adelaide, CASFFA 2023 is proud to present bold new works, and rich festival favorites from the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
Our varied program brings together emerging filmmakers and old masters, and presents works that are wide-ranging and everchanging in scope. It is through the program’s lineup that the spirit of this year’s festival emerges – the Spirit of Independence – a spirit you will find in the stories on screen, as well as in the filmmakers who craft them.
Opening our festival is Mariana Čengel Solčanská’s historical and moving period-drama The Chambermaid. An astonishingly well-shot film, The Chambermaid is filled with resonance and complexity and elaborate period sequences. Join us in either city, for the Australian Premiere of this highly celebrated and anticipated movie.
With the program scheduled over four days in Melbourne at the Lido and Classic Cinemas, and three in Adelaide at The Regal Theatre, CASFFA 2023 presents seventeen movies in total, and introduces eight Australian Premieres. We are especially excited to feature the Australian Premieres of movies by emerging filmmakers from both countries, whose singular stories affirm the power of cinema. We are thrilled to also present a variety of cinematic characters, who might or might not behave in unexpected ways on screen, but who, navigating all sorts of turbulent circumstances, represent the power of collective humanity. We also look forward to partnering again with the Melbourne Cinémathèque, whose program at the Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI) All The World’s Bedlam bookends our festival in Melbourne.
Whether it’s the refreshing work of a young auteur, the colourful vistas of an animated fantasy, or the contagious chuckles of a rom-com, we hope you’ll join us this year in a celebration of Czech and Slovak Cinema. Throughout their rich histories the Spirit of Independence has always defined the cinema of the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Each year, our festival aims to uncover this bold spirit, and present it proudly to Australian audiences.
Ali Back, Artistic Director
To showcase, celebrate and promote a contextualised range of classic and modern Czech and Slovak live-action and animated films to Australasian and expatriate audiences through a yearly, not-for-profit arts festival.
To encourage active participation in and from the Czech and Slovak communities for the advancement of their culture in Australasia.
To cultivate mutually beneficial partnerships with Czech, Slovak and local businesses and cultural organisations.
The Czech and Slovak Film Festival of Australia (CaSFFA) is a volunteer-run, not-for-profit organisation dedicated to showcasing the best films from the Czech and Slovak Republics and former Czechoslovakia. Founded in 2011 by Cerise Howard, Brendon Black, Linda Studena, Katrina Wilson O’Brien and Denisa Cross, the festival has run tenth editions in Melbourne and festivals in Canberra, Brisbane, Adelaide and Australia-wide online. CaSFFA welcomes all audiences and considers itself more than just a regular film festival, having screened silent films accompanied by scores on the Melbourne Town Hall organ, Coburg Drive-In, artistic and historical exhibitions, and children’s events. We are also a source of news and information on Czech and Slovak films relevant to Australian audiences, so please sign up for our mailing list and follow us on our socials to keep in touch.
Executive Team | Ioana-Lucia Demczuk, Caroline Ondracek, Denisa Cross
Team CASFFA
Artistic Director | Ali Back
Operations Manager | Ioana-Lucia Demczuk
Finance Manager | Denisa Cross
Association Secretary | Caroline Ondracek
Marketing & Brand Manager | Vera Morgan
IT and Technical Production | L’ubica Shannon | Jacob Agius | Lilliana Hajncl
Philanthropy, Grants & Sponsorship | L’ubica Shannon | Denisa Cross | Vera Morgan | Lilliana Hajncl
PR & Publicity | Petra Tomecko | Amelia Leonard | Vera Morgan | Ioana-Lucia Demczuk
Community Liaison | Denisa Cross | L’ubica Shannon | Vera Morgan | Petra Tomecko
Program Consultant & Copywriting | Jacob Agius | Amelia Leonard
Festival Trailer | Sense
CaSFFA functions with collaborative involvement across all roles.
Adam Dvořák, Barbara Semenov, Barbora Lochmanová, Barbora Budinská, Benji Tamir, Brendan Black, Carla Ajdukovic, Cerise Howard, Daniel Pánek, Danka Tomečko, Daniela Veres, David Milne, Debra Knight, Dylan Rainforth, Eleanor Colla, Erika Paulinská, Erin Nottage, H.E. Mr Tomáš Dub, H.E. Jana Tyrer, Hana Flanderová, Igal Hodirker, Indra Adams, Jan Lengyel, Janka Tomöl, Jeremy Whiteside, John Zika, Joja Datko, Karolína Hrichová, Katrina Wilson O’Brien, Kristina Aschenbrennerová, Kristína Palmer, Kristýna Gardášová, Kym Green, Lenka Allen, Linda Studená, Lisa Safi, Ľuba Majernik, Ludmila Chudil, Lukáš Kokeš, Marcel Mihulka, Maree Raftis-Zika, Margareta Velichova Rebelos, Margarete Schweinitz, Maria Krizanova, Marika Drienikova, Markéta Šantrochová, Martin Kabáč, Marta a Matej Šútora, Marta Kapusta, Marta Kucharová Mentzlová, Martin Plocek, Martina Povolní, Martina Tlamsová, Martina Vacková, Max Whewell, Miroslav Koman, Nikoleta Tomecko, Nora Kovarčíková, Okan Safi, Ondřej Hovádek, Patrik Tomecko, Pavel Tomecko, Penny Cameron, Peter Badač, Peter Denison, Petra Berkovičová Raušová, Rastislav Steranka, Renate Zylla, Richard Šimeček, Silvia Panáková, Soňa Tomecko, Steve Virgo, Sylvia Melis, The Zika Family, Tom Danby, Vanessa Tucek, Vardos Trio, Vítězslav Chovanec, Vladka Rejda, VodaFest, Wanda Kaprálová, Zuzana Slováková, Zuzana Vasitch
and all our FABULOUS PARTNERS, GENEROUS SPONSORS and WONDERFUL VOLUNTEERS.
