Meanwhile in Czechia... 27/25
18.07.2025
Film awards presented in Karlovy Vary
The prizes were awarded at the famous International Film Festival in Karlovy Vary last weekend. The main prize, the Crystal Globe, went to the film "Raději zešílet v divočině" ("Better to go mad in the wilderness") by Slovakian director Miro Remo, a documentary about a pair of twin brothers who live as dropouts on a lonely farm in the Bohemian Forest. Or rather, one should say: lived. Because one of the two 62-year-old brothers, František Klišík, died the night after the award ceremony, which they had both attended. The exact circumstances of his death have not yet been revealed, except that his body was found in a pond in a village near Prague.
The director visited the two brothers Ondřej and František Klišík repeatedly over the course of five years and followed their lives. He did not spare the conflicts between them. Incidentally, we intend to show the film next year during the Czech-German Culture Days.
Other prizes went to the Norwegian Pia Tjelta as best leading actress for her role in the romantic drama "Don't Call Me Mama" and to the German-Spanish actor Alex Brendemühl as best leading actor for his role in the film "When a River Becomes the Sea".The Special Jury Prize went to the Iranian film "Bidad" ("Injustice") by director Soheil Beiraghi about a young singer who fights against the fact that women are not allowed to perform in public in Iran. A special award also went to 15-year-old Kateřina Falbrová for her role in the film "Sbormistr" ("The Choirmaster").
What next for the goat track?
The Czech railroad administration Správa železnic has presented a list of lines for which a number of parameters would justify closure. This is not yet a decision, but a basis for negotiations with local authorities.
This list also includes a section of the so-called Goat Railway between Oldřichov u Duchcova and Krupka město. The goat train was out of service for years until operations between Děčín and Krupka were resumed as tourist line T11 (information and timetables here). The rest of the line from Krupka to Oldřichov u Duchcova is now under consideration, as its repair would probably cost around CZK 200 to 300 million. The railroad administration considers this uneconomical, but the Ústí district would like to use the line as an extended tourist route. Now both have to negotiate with each other.
Czech Republic relaxes drug policy
A reform of criminal law approved by the Czech Senate at the beginning of July, which will come into force in January 2026, also includes new regulations regarding the possession and consumption of cannabis. In future, the cultivation of up to three cannabis plants per person will be legal, as will the possession of up to 100 grams of cannabis at home and the carrying of up to 25 grams on the road. In addition, minor violations of these limits will no longer automatically be treated as a criminal offense, but as an administrative offense. In future, a clearer distinction will be made between offenses committed with or without the intention to sell.
Until now, drug policy in the Czech Republic has been relatively relaxed with regard to cannabis, but possession was still not legal. Anyone caught with up to 15 grams was not prosecuted, but treated as an administrative offense (and often not prosecuted at all).
New nuclear power plant units cost CZK 407 billion
The website e15.cz has calculated from the recently published contracts between the South Korean company KHNP and the majority state-owned operating company Elektrárna Dukovany II that the new nuclear power plant in Dukovany will cost around CZK 407 billion (approx. EUR 16 billion). The website emphasizes that many sections of the contracts have been blacked out and that the total sum had to be calculated from various individual figures.
Jackals detected in the Czech Republic
There have been individual reports of jackal sightings in the Czech Republic for several years, but now it has become known that their presence has been confirmed for the first time using wildlife camera footage. As reported by the Agency for Nature and Landscape Conservation of the Czech Republic, this was achieved at the beginning of April in the Tabulová nature reserve near Břeclav in the south-east of the Czech Republic.
The jackal spreads naturally from the Balkans. It arrived in the Czech Republic via Hungary, where it is already relatively common, and Slovakia. It has been suggested that one of the possible reasons for the current spread of the jackal into new areas is climate change and the shortening of permanent snow cover in the areas it inhabits. The absence of predators such as the wolf also favors the spread. In terms of behavior (including towards humans) and diet, the jackal is said to be comparable to the fox.
If you would like to receive our weekly review regularly in your e-mail inbox, sign up for our newsletter.