The Play
Hra
Directed by
Czech Republic, Chile, France, South Korea
2019
94 min
- Czech
- Spanish
Drama
Valdivia IFF
The world of Petr, a young director of a theater in a small Czech town, crumbles after he decides to carry out his dream: to adapt an overly ambitious play based on Euripides’ classic "Fedra".
During the rehearsals, he loses his two main actors and the Town Hall begins to pressure him to change the play due to its political content. Overwhelmed by his troubles at work and the growing distance with his wife Katerina at home, Petr makes his situation even worse by falling in love with Karolina, the talented, new actress playing the lead.
As the premiere approaches, life imitates art and, as inevitable as the clouds over the stage of the Greek tragedy he is adapting, Petr’s strength is put to the test. Like an ancient hero, he must make a decision. As a modern man, he must face the consequences.
Labels & Line Ups
Credits
- Cast
- Vladimíra Benoni
- Sarah Havacova
- Sarah Hlavácová
- Danica Jurcová
- Ondrej Malý
- Elizaveta Maximová
- Jirí Mádl
- Screenplay
- Alejandro Fernández Almendras
- Cinematography
- Inti Briones
- Editing
- Alejandro Fernández Almendras
- Music
- Pablo Vergara
- Production
- ARIZONA PRODUCTIONS

Alejandro Fernández Almendras
Chile
Film criticism has been key to my work as a filmmaker
Born in 1971, Chile. Alejandro Fernández Almendras studied journalism and since 2002 has directed several awarded short films. His debut feature HUACHO (2009) premiered in Festival de Cannes and his second film BY THE FIRE (2011) premiered at San Sebastian FF. TO KILL A MAN (2014) won the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic at Sundance FF and represented Chile at the Academy and Goya Awards. His film MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING (2016) premiered at San Sebastian and Sundance FF. His latest film, THE BEST WE CAN (2018), partially funded by the Jeonju Cinema Project grant, courtesy of the Korean festival, was screened at Jeonju IFF 2018. In 2019 he released his film THE PLAY.