Where to watch English-friendly versions of films nominated for Czech Lions

This story originally appeared in The Prague Reporter.

Cinephiles in Prague can catch the best Czech movies of 2022 through the first weekend in March during the Czech Lion (Český lev) film festival at Edison Filmhub. Almost all films will be shown with English subtitles.

Movies screening at Edison Filmhub represent those nominated for 2023 Czech Lion awards, the Czech Republic’s version of the Academy Awards. The 2023 Czech Lion awards will be handed out during a ceremony in Prague on Saturday, March 4, and film fans in the Czech capital can catch each of them nightly now through that date.

Czech Lion-nominated films screening include "Arvéd," a psychological thriller that was recently named the best Czech film of 2022 at the Czech Film Critics’ Awards. Director Vojtěch Mašek’s debut tells the true story of occultist Jiří “Arvéd” Smíchovský, who collaborated with the Nazis and was later imprisoned by the communist regime.

Also screening will be "Il Boemo," which was the Czech Republic’s official submission to the 2023 Academy Awards; ultimately, it did not earn an Oscar nomination. Directed by Petr Václav (also known for "The Way Out"), the film tells the true story of Czech composer Josef Mysliveček, who was a mentor and personal friend of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. "Arvéd" led this year’s Czech Lion nominations with a total of 12, with "Il Boemo" right behind at 11.

"Banger," a drug-laced thriller shot on director Adam Sedlák’s iPhone that received eight Czech Lion nominations, and Tereza Nvotová’s horror-mystery "Světlonoc" (The Nightsiren, pictured at top), which scored seven Czech Lion nominations and won the top prize at the Locarno Film Festival last summer, will also screen at Edison Filmhub over the coming weeks.

Other films screening during the Czech Lion fest at Edison Filmhub include "Medieval," an English-language historical epic about one of Bohemia’s most famous military leaders from director Petr Jákl, and Michal Blaško’s "Oběť "(Victim), which both received four nominations.

Almost all films will play in English-friendly versions; only "Grand Prix" (screening in Czech) and "Brotherhood" (screening in Bosnian with Czech subtitles) will be shown without English subtitles during the festival. "Medieval" will play in its original English-language version with Czech subtitles.