Czech dream
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Czech dream |
| Original title | Český sen |
| Country of production | Czech Republic |
| original language | Czech |
| Publishing year | 2004 |
| length | 90 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director |
Vít Klusák , Filip Remunda |
| script | Vít Klusák, Filip Remunda |
| production | Filip Čermák ( Česká Televize , FAMU , Hypermarket Film) |
| camera | Pavel Berkovič, David Čálek, Erika Hníková, Vít Janeček, Jiří Málek, Martin Mareček, Martin Řezníček, Jakub Sommer |
| cut | Zdeňek Marek |
| occupation | |
| |
Czech dream (original title: Český sen ) is the graduation film of the former Czech film academy students Vít Klusák and Filip Remunda . It documents the story of the opening of a fictional shopping center with the same name.
content
Together with the advertising agency MarcBBDO, the two filmmakers realized a comprehensive advertising concept consisting of radio, television, newspaper and poster advertising. Slogans like “Don't come” and “Don't waste your money” were circulating in the media for several weeks, as did a specially created promotional song (sung by Linda Finková) and three TV commercials. A week before the hypermarket "opened" , which was advertised with almost unrealistically low prices, its address was announced. Around 3,000 people ultimately came to the supposed opening ceremony, which took place around 500 meters in front of the backdrop of the shopping center, in the middle of a meadow at the exhibition center in Praha-Letňany . Meanwhile, the potential customers were asked about the reasons for their arrival.
After the barrier was opened, the crowd began to move towards the backdrop. There were television cameras with them, which after the disillusionment when it became apparent that there was nothing to be found behind the rainbow-painted tarpaulin apart from a steel frame, the exhilarated to disappointed and angry comments of the misled visitors. Then the two filmmakers answered the questions of the indignant visitors.
More customers came to the site almost every ten seconds into the evening. Three months later, 18% of Czechs still believed “Český sen” to be a real supermarket.
The film also shows some reactions from newspapers and television to this strange project. There was also a stir that it was sponsored by public funds from the Ministry of Culture.
Quote
“It's like advertising : the clothes before and after washing, the pH value in the mouth before and after the chewing gum. For us it's about the model before and after the revolution. "
Motives and reactions
The aim of the project was to uncover how much influence advertising has on people. At the same time as the film, in 2004, the Czech Republic started the 200 million crowns advertising campaign for EU accession with the title: “Ano pro Evropskou unii” - Yes to the European Union. The audience, who had just been deceived by the advertising for the “Czech Dream”, reacted accordingly sensitively to this campaign, which was definitely in the interests of the two filmmakers. After all, the film should also show that people also make obviously “empty promises” as long as there is enough advertising for them. In a televised discussion with Czech Prime Minister Vladimír Špidla , for example, it was argued that the enormous sums raised to promote the EU accession vote could just as easily have gone into education and culture. After his party's defeat in the European Parliament elections and internal party disputes, as well as the overpriced EU advertising campaign, he resigned on June 26, 2004.
Awards
The film received a total of five awards at the Krakow , Jihlava , Ljubljana and Aarhus film festivals .
Others
In summer 2007 the film premiered in US cinemas under the title HYPERMARKET = BIG-BOX MEGASTORE .