The 30th annual Czech Lion Awards, the Czech Republic’s version of the Academy Awards, were handed out tonight during a gala ceremony at Prague’s Rudolfinum. Il Boemo, a historical drama directed by Petr Václav about 18th century Czech composer Josef Mysliveček, scored a total of six awards including Best Picture and Best Director.
Il Boemo also won awards for Best Production Design, Best Sound, Best Makeup, and Best Costumes, winning more than half of the 11 categories it was nominated for. In the Czech Republic, Il Boemo is currently streaming with English subtitles on Netflix.
Leading Czech Lion nominations with 12, the true-story psychological thriller Arvéd came away from tonight’s ceremony with three wins for Best Screenplay, Best Lead Actor (Michal Kern), and Best Music. Klára Melíšková was named Best Actress for the TV miniseries Suspicion, and Art Talent Show was named Best Documentary.
This year marks the 30th anniversary of the Czech Lion awards, which were founded in 1993 alongside the establishment of the Czech Republic. Tonight’s ceremony began with a montage of Czech Lion films from across the past three decades.
A total of 32 films across 19 categories were competing for awards at tonight’s Czech Lion ceremony. Martha Issová was named Best Supporting Actress for her role in Buko to kick off the ceremony, while Marcel Bendig was a surprise winner for Best Supporting Actor for his turn in the drug dealer drama BANGER.
“I am completely unprepared. I feel extremely grateful to be able to do this job and I am happy that my dream has come true,” Issová said during her acceptance speech.
In the 30-year history of the Czech Lions, editor Jiří Brožek has won a record nine Czech Lions, while cinematographer Vladimír Smutný and sound technician Pavel Rejholec are tied for second with eight Czech Lion wins. Ivan Trojan leads all actors with seven Czech Lions, while Anna Geislerová leads actresses with five.
These are the final results for the 2023 Czech Lion Awards:
Best Picture
- Il Boemo (WINNER)
- Arvéd
- BANGER.
- Victim
- The Nightsiren
Best Documentary
- Art Talent Show (WINNER)
- Brotherhood
- Good Old Czechs
- KaprKód
- Toyen, The Baroness of Surrealism
Best Director
- Il Boemo – Petr Václav (WINNER)
- Arvéd – Vojtěch Mašek
- BANGER. – Adam Sedlák
- Victim – Michal Blaško
- The Nightsiren – Tereza Nvotová
Best Actress
- Suspicion (Podezření) – Klára Melíšková (WINNER)
- And then love came… – Pavla Tomicová
- Il Boemo – Barbara Ronchi
- Victim – Vita Smachelyuk
- The Nightsiren – Natália Germáni
Best Actor
- Arvéd – Michal Kern (WINNER)
- BANGER. – Adam Mišík
- Borders of Love – Matyáš Řezníček
- Il Boemo – Vojtěch Dyk
- Slovo – Martin Finger
Best Supporting Actress
- Buko – Martha Issová (WINNER)
- Grand Prix – Tatiana Dyková
- Grand Prix – Anna Kameníková
- Il Boemo – Lana Vlady
- Podezření – Denisa Barešová
Best Supporting Actor
- BANGER. – Marcel Bendig (WINNER)
- Arvéd – Saša Rashilov
- Grand Prix – Štěpán Kozub
- Kdyby radši hořelo – Miroslav Krobot
- Poslední závod – Oldřich Kaiser
Best Screenplay
- Arvéd – Jan Poláček, Vojtěch Mašek (WINNER)
- BANGER. – Adam Sedlák
- Il Boemo – Petr Václav
- Victim – Jakub Medvecký
- Podezření – Štěpán Hulík
Best Cinematography
- Poslední závod – Jan Baset Strítežský (WINNER)
- Arvéd – Dušan Husár
- BANGER. – Dušan Husár
- Il Boemo – Diego Romero Suarez-Llanos
- The Nightsiren – Federico Cesca
Best Editing
- BANGER. – Šimon Hájek, Jakub Jelínek (WINNER)
- Arvéd – Hedvika Hansalová
- Good Old Czechs – Šimon Špidla
- KaprKód – Adam Brothánek
- The Nightsiren – Pavel Hrdlička, Thibault Hague
Best Sound
- Il Boemo – Daniel Němec, Francesco Liotard (WINNER)
- Arvéd – Jakub Jurásek
- Jan Žižka – Martin Jílek, Peter Hilčanský, Viktor Prášil
- KaprKód – Richard Müller
- The Nightsiren – Marek Hart, Michaela Patríková, Ivan Horák
Best Music
- Arvéd – Ondřej Mikula (Aid Kid), Jonatán Pjoni Pastirčák (WINNER)
- BANGER. – Oliver Torr
- Král Šumavy: Fantom temného kraje – Beata Hlavenková
- Slovo – Jan P. Muchow
- The Nightsiren – Jonatán Pjoni Pastirčák, Robin Coudert
Best Production Design
- Il Boemo – Irena Hradecká, Luca Servino (WINNER)
- Arvéd – Nina Feriancová
- Běžná selhání – Antonín Šilar
- Devadesátky – Henrich Boráros
- Jan Žižka – Jiří Sternwald
Best Costumes
- Il Boemo – Andrea Cavalletto (WINNER)
- Arvéd – Františka Králíková
- Devadesátky – Andrea Králová
- Jan Žižka – Kateřina Mírová
- Marie Terezie – pátý díl – Ján Kocman
Best Makeup
- Il Boemo – Andrea McDonald (WINNER)
- Arvéd – Iveta Huptychová
- Grand Prix – Lukáš Král, Jana Bílková
- Jan Žižka – Ivo Strangmüller, René Stejskal, Jamie Kelman
- Marie Therese – fifth volume – Ivo Strangmüller, René Stejskal, David Šesták
Best TV Movie or Miniseries
- Suspicion (Podezření) (WINNER)
- Král Šumavy: Fantom temného kraje
- Pozadí událostí
Best TV Series
- Devadesátky (WINNER)
- Pět let – main producer Matěj Stehlík – main creator Damián Vondrášek
- Stíny v mlze
Best Animated Film
- Zuza v zahradách (WINNER)
- Carp Xmass
- Tmání
Best Short Fillm
- Rituály – directed by Damián Vondrášek (WINNER)
- Barcarole – directed by Igor Chmela
- Vinland – directed by Martin Kuba
Magnesium Award for Best Student Film (non-statuary)
- Vinland – directed by Martin Kuba (WINNER)
- Asterión – directed by Francesco Montagner
- Atestace – directed by Jan Hecht
- Ostrov svobody – directed by Petr Januschka
- Rituály – directed by Damián Vondrášek
