Mallory Won – Both at Karlovy Vary IFF and in Life

Mallory, the latest film by Helena Třeštíková, received the Grand Prix for the best documentary film at the 50th anniversary edition of Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. The long-term observational film follows the indomitable protagonist on her arduous journey to a dignified life.

The life story of Mallory Neradová, the protagonist of Helena Třeštíková’s film, shows the hardships of getting out of drug addiction and rising from the bottom of the society. For a major part of the 13 years during which Helena Třeštíková followed her protagonist with a camera, Mallory has been living in a parked car. The twists in her partner relationships as well as the frustrating clashes with the authorities keep dragging her down. However, the former drug addict does not give up and her story becomes a story of a relentless human struggle for hope. After the premiere, the festival viewers gave it a long, emotional standing ovation; at the end of Karlovy Vary IFF, the film was also appreciated by the jury presided by Italian festival programmer and film critic Paolo Bertolin and further comprising Romanian filmmaker Teodora Ana Mihai and her Czech colleague Ivana Pauerová Miloševič.

Mallory is coming to Czech cinemas on July 23. Moreover, at DAFilms.com, you can also watch earlier films by Helena Třeštíková who has ranked among the prominent personalities of Czech documentary for several decades. You can chose among 34 films including her most renowned documentaries René (2008) and Katka (2009) as well as the films from the Marriage Stories series. Last year, we presented a great retrospective (the first online ever) of films by Helena Třeštíková subtitled A Long Journey as well as an interview with the leading Czech documentary filmmaker.

To understand more a unique method of filmmaking and a very intimate approach of director to her films watch the free masterclass of Helena Třeštíková based on the interview with a famous Slovak filmmaker Peter Kerekes: