Ahead of the Oscar nominations being announced Jan. 23, where “Waves” is hoping for recognition after being shortlisted for Best International Film, it led the pack this past week at the Czech Lion Awards — Czech Republic’s equivalent of the Academy Awards — with 14 nominations.
“Waves” was mentioned in numerous categories, including best director and screenplay for Jiří Mádl. Actors Vojtěch Vodochodský, Tatiana Pauhofová, Martin Hofmann and Stanislav Majer were nominated in their respective categories.
The film was also nominated in below-the-line crafts, including for cinematography, editing, sound design, music, stage design, costume design and makeup and hairstyling.
The success of “Waves” at the Czech Lion Awards and its shortlist mention for Best International Film at the upcoming Academy Awards comes after much success back home. After its debut at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, where it won the top audience award, the film was released in Czech theaters in August, becoming the most commercially-successful Czech film of the year with a $5.9 million gross.
In Variety’s review of the film, critic Manuel Betancourt wrote that “led by its stellar ensemble, ‘Waves’ makes for a fleet-footed period drama, the kind whose straightforward narrative is heightened by its stylistic and narrative confidence.”
It currently stands as the third-highest-grossing Czech film ever, behind “Women on the Run” and “Anděl Páně 2.” Notably, the last time a Czech film was nominated in the international category at the Oscars was “Želary” in 2003, and the country got two shortlist mentions for “The Painted Bird” and “Charlatan” in 2020 and 2021, respectively.
The homeland success of “Waves” and the historical narrative of the journalists who risked their lives to broadcast the news of the 1968 Prague Spring has made the film a source of pride for Czech people, as evidenced by its Czech Lion nominations.
It’s worth nothing that the major boom in Czech cinema happened during the 1960s with the Czechoslovak New Wave, the same timeframe that “Waves” takes place in. During that period, both “The Shop on Main Street” and “Closely Watched Trains” won Academy Awards for Czechoslovakia, while Miloš Forman’s “Loves of a Blonde” and “The Firemen’s Ball” also scored nominations.
The Czech Academy members voted for the top films in 24 categories out of 93 film and series submissions. The 32nd annual Czech Lion awards will be presented March 8 in Prague.
The full list of nominations can be found here.