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BROKEN VOICES will now receive the support of the Europa Cinemas Network, with additional promotion and incentives for exhibitors to extend the film’s run on screen.

The jury issued the following statement:

“This was not an easy choice for us. We were impressed by the diverse field of powerful contenders in this year’s competitions, but we finally agreed unanimously on a very strong film: BROKEN VOICES.

The film’s universal topic shows a very complex power structure within a competitive all-girl choir. BROKEN VOICES illustrates very sensitively how the safe spaces for a girl can get poisoned. 

The young leading actress Kateřina Falbrová is so impressively nuanced in her debut as a spellbound young girl.

Shot on grainy 16mm, the director Ondřej Provazník lures the spectator into a comfortable nostalgic nineties setting only to slowly reveal a very sinister abuse of authority.”

Sold internationally by Salaud Morisset, BROKEN VOICES is produced by Endorfilm (Czech Republic), and co-produced by Punkchart films (Slovak Republic), Czech Television (Czech Republic), Innogy (Czech Republic) and Barrandov Studio (Czech Republic). 

The film is distributed in Europe as follows: 

The cast includes Kateřina Falbrová, Juraj Loj, Maya Kintera, Zuzana Šulajová, Marek Cisovský, Ivana Wojtylová, Anna Michalcová, Anežka Novotná and Markéta Kühnová. The script is by Ondřej Provazník. Image by Lukáš Milota, production design by Irena Hradecká, editing by Anna Johnson Ryndová, sound by Juraj Mravec and Petr Čechák and music by Pjoni and Aid Kid.

Synopsis: In early 1990’s Czech Republic, 13-year-old Karolína earns a place in a world famous girls’ choir, joining her older sister and other driven young talents. Her voice soon catches the attention of the admired and enigmatic choirmaster Macha. Being singled out feels like a triumph, until she begins to understand the unsettling price of that privilege. Inspired by the Bambini di Praga case, the film explores the fragile line where innocence collides with abusive power.

Ondřej Provazník was born in Prague, where he studied journalism at Charles University and scriptwriting at FAMU. Together with fellow director Martin Dušek, he co-directed two successful feature documentaries, A Town Called Hermitage (2007) and Coal in the Soul (2010) and in 2019, they released their feature-length fiction debut Old-Timers. The film won the 2019 Czech Film Critics’ Award for Best Film, Best Director, and Best Actor, the Czech Lion Awards for Best Actor in a Leading Role and Best Actor in a Supporting Role, and the Best World Cinema Award at the 2020 Phoenix Film Festival. In 2025, his second feature film and solo debut titled Broken Voices premiered at Karlovy Vary International Film Festival.

The Europa Cinemas Label Jury of Karlovy Vary this year comprised Daniel Krátký (Kino Svět, Hodonín, Czech Republic), Slavomíra Macáková (Kino Úsmev, Kosice, Slovak Republic) and Wouter Timmermans (FilmHallen, Amsterdam, The Netherlands).

The Label is also awarded in Berlin, Cannes, Locarno and Venice. Recipients of the Label honored at Karlovy Vary in the past include: Men Don’t Cry, Original Bliss, Babai, Free Fall, Le Grand Cahier, “I Do Not Care If We Go Down in History as Barbarians”, Scandinavian Silence, As Far As I Can Walk, Fucking Bornholm, The Hypnosis and Loveable in 2024.

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Press: Charles McDonald

charles@charlesmcdonald.co.uk

+44 7785 246 377

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Photo credits : Film stills BROKEN VOICES – ©endorfilm2025

Photo credits : EC Label award ceremony – @Film Servis Festival KV, a.s.