Czech culture this week: Signal festival lights up Prague

The annual Signal festival of light art starts on Oct. 13 and runs to Oct. 16 with routes in the city center and Vinohrady/Vršovice. Most installations can be seen for free, but some require a festival pass. The videomapping at náměstí Míru always draws big crowds.

The photographic exhibition John Wehrheim: Paradise Lost runs at Dům U Kamenného zvonu from Oct. 12 to Jan. 8, 2023. The pictures document an attempt at creating a Utopia in Hawaii in the 1970s.

One exhibition is closing at DOX and two are opening. "Via vitae," with painting and drawing work of Věra Nováková, ends Oct. 16. "Lost in …" with works by Vladimír Doležal opens on Oct. 13 and runs to Jan. 8, 2023. "Temple Builders" also opens on Oct. 13 and runs to Jan. 29, 2023.

The Be2Can festival continues until Oct. 12 at several Prague theaters, with English-friendly entries at Edison Filmhub, Evald, MAT, Atlas, and Lucerna. The festival shows mainly European films that were hits on the festival circuit.

The Prague Indian Film Festival, also called the Bollywood Film Festival though it now includes films from all over the region, takes place from Oct. 12 to 15 at kino Světozor, with a party on Oct. 14. at Futurum Music Bar. Read more in our article.

The NT Live series continues with Jack Absolute Flies Again, The new comedic play by Richard Bean and Oliver Chris is set during World War II but is inspired by Sheridan's "The Rivals." It can be seen at kino Aero on Oct. 12.

The autumn edition of the Shockproof Festival is at kino Aero on Oct. 14 and 15. Three films are English-friendly, and the rest will have "live dubbing," meaning people will talk over the film in Czech.

The 11th Cine Argentino festival showcases films from Latin America. Five features and a short will be at kino Lucerna between Oct. 14 and 18. with English and Czech subtitles. Topics range from stories inspired by real events to fantastical searches for identity. The closing film is "Jesús López," which finds a young man trying hard to take the place of his cousin who died in an accident.

International documentaries and special guests are at the Prague Science Film Fest, held at the Czech University of Life Sciences Prague  (ČZU) from Oct, 10 to 13. Admission to the main program is free.

Michelangelo Antonioni's slow-moving 1975 drama The Passenger, starring Jack Nicholson and Maria Schneider is at Ponrepo on Oct. 14. Nicholson plays a reported who gets in way over his head while investigating conditions in Africa. Musician Iggy Pop saw the film advertised on a billboard and used the title for one of his most famous songs, but he likely did not actually see the film.

The annual 4+4 Days in Motion opens another abandoned space, Erpet Smíchov, until Oct. 16 for performances from international artists and more. Additional events are at Archa and Savarin Riding School.

Ukrainian Theatre Yellow & Blue in partnership with Prague Shakespeare Company and Divadlo Na Prádle presents Waiting for the H, with "H" standing for human. The fully original show is inspired by Beckett’s "Waiting for Godot." It is performed in Ukrainian and English at Divadlo Na Prádle on Oct. 14 and Nov. 11.

Velvet Comedy has three different events intended to spur some laughter. Monday Open Mic at Ty kávo on Oct. 10, Velvet Comedy Show at Czech Inn Bar on Oct. 11, and Velvet Friday: Stand-Up Show at Pracovna on Oct. 14.

Prague's Manifesto Market kicks off the winter season with the opening of a fairytale carousel this week. The new carousel, now in operation, is set to add some extra holiday cheer for the upcoming Christmas market season. Guests of all ages are invited to take a spin on the new attraction.

San Fransisco garage rock band the Brian Jonestown Massacre returns to Lucerna Music Bar on Oct. 10. The band released "Fire Doesn't Grow on Trees" in June and announced that a second album called "The Future Is Your Past" would come out sometime this month.

Icelandic blues rock band Kaleo comes to Forum Karlín on Oct. 10 with their Fight or Flight tour. They are known for the 2015 song "Way Down We Go," which has appeared in numerous films, TV shows, and advertisements.

Rapper Kendrick Lamar brings his Big Stepper tour to O2 Arena on Oct. 10. Doors open at 6:30 p.m., and Lamar plays as the last of three acts just after 9 p.m.

Classical crossover vocal group Il Divo will sing their greatest hits at O2 universum on Oct. 10. The our in part pays homage to Spanish baritone Carlos Marín, a group member who passed away last year. The group formed almost two decades ago and has sold over 30 million recordings.

Nashville rock band All Them Witches flies into MeetFactory on Oct. 10. The blues and psychedelic rock band cites Tool, Queens of the Stone Age, Pink Floyd, and Led Zeppelin as influences.

Czech superstars Lucie will play accompanied by a symphony orchestra at O2 Arena on Oct. 12. The audience will hear new arrangements of hits from across the band's catalog.