Czech director Ondřej Provazník’s Broken Voices (Sbormistr), a chilling coming-of-age drama inspired by a notorious real-life case of sexual abuse, has claimed the top honor at this year’s Oldenburg International Film Festival. The film received the German Independence Award for best film at the German indie event, which wrapped on Sunday.
The Oldenburg jury praised Broken Voices as “a subtle and intense coming-of-age story” that “masterfully guides us through the delicate yet profound journey of a young girl whose dreams and hopes are threatened by forces seeking to silence her.” Inspired by the Bambini di Praga scandal, the film depicts how predatory behavior can thrive in respected institutions while remaining hidden in plain sight.
Premiering in competition at the 2025 Karlovy Vary International Film Festival before opening in Czech cinemas, Broken Voices has drawn acclaim for its restrained storytelling and quietly devastating impact. The Prague Reporter called it “a deeply unsettling Czech drama” that offers “a frightening account of how predators subversively operate in plain sight to rob children of their innocence.”
A disturbing story drawn from real life
Broken Voices follows 13-year-old Karolína (Kateřina Falbrová) as she pursues her dream of joining a prestigious girls’ choir in early 1990s Czech Republic. Her older sister Lucie (Maya Kintera) is already a member and competing for a coveted spot on an upcoming U.S. tour. The choir’s charismatic musical director, Vítězslav Mácha (Juraj Loj), notices the young soprano and invites her to a winter retreat where the girls vie for a place on the roster.
Provazník’s film unfolds with unsettling subtlety. For most of its running time, no overt abuse occurs on screen, leaving viewers to question the choirmaster’s intentions. Like a careful predator, Mácha hides behind his authority and charm. Subtle signs of manipulation emerge: girls keep a secret “attention chart,” jealousy flares between siblings, and boundaries blur during casual sauna visits.
The film draws inspiration from the case of Bohumil Kulínský Jr., the conductor of the Bambini di Praga choir, who was convicted in 2009 of sexually abusing dozens of underage girls over a 20-year period. Kulínský served just over two years of a five-and-a-half-year sentence, a lenient outcome that shocked the Czech public. Broken Voices avoids a direct dramatization of these events, instead examining how trust, authority, and denial enable abuse to persist.
Czech cinema gains recognition abroad
The Oldenburg award marks a major international milestone for Provazník, whose 2019 debut Old-Timers earned critical praise but limited exposure outside Central Europe. With Broken Voices, he delivers a film that resonates well beyond its national context, exploring universal themes of power, silence, and institutional complicity.
The Oldenburg festival, sometimes referred to as a “European Sundance,” has long championed independent and boundary-pushing cinema. Attendance at this year’s edition rose nearly 10 percent to more than 13,000 visitors. Alongside Broken Voices, awards went to Irish actor John Connors for Crazy Love, Sabrina Amali for Maysoon, and Yun Xie’s Under the Burning Sun, which received the Audacity Award for its bold debut.
For Czech cinema, the win reinforces the country’s growing reputation for tackling difficult social subjects with nuance and artistry. Recent international successes such as Charlatan, Brothers, and now Broken Voices show a willingness to confront uncomfortable truths—whether historical or contemporary—that resonate with audiences worldwide.
With its restrained style and haunting subject matter, Broken Voices stands as a reminder that some of the most powerful stories come not from spectacle but from the quiet devastation of lives forever changed. Its recognition at Oldenburg suggests that this Czech film, despite being controversially snubbed from a submission to the Academy Awards, will continue to spark conversation as it reaches new audiences on the festival circuit and beyond.
