The film was directed by English filmmaker Sean Ellis who also received a best director nod. Ellis recently tweeted the full list of nominations which include a best actor nomination for Murphy (Peaky Blinders) and a supporting actor nomination for Dornan (Fifty Shades of Grey; The Fall), writing:
The film follows the true story of Czechoslovak paratroopers, played by Irish actors Murphy and Dornan, who covertly parachute into the country during the Nazi occupation and plot to assassinate Reinhard Heydrich, Reich-Protector of Bohemia and Moravia.
Nominees were selected from a total of 71 feature-length, animated, and documentary theatrical distributions from 2016. Films compete for a Czech Lion statue in a total of fifteen categories.
The film also won a non-statuatory award; Sean Ellis received a fan prize which was accepted by female lead Czech actress Anna Geislerová at a January press conference.
No word yet if the actors or director will be on hand to accept their awards should they win.
Director Julius Ševčík’s Masaryk, a biopic of the first president of the Czechoslovakia starring Karel Roden, and Jan Hřebejk’s Učitelka (The Teacher) also garnered a number of nominations.
The Czech Lions will be broadcast March 4 from Prague Rudolfinum.