CATRIN supported Academia film Olomouc
The award for the winning film in the short film category was presented by CATRIN director Pavel Banáš at the awards ceremony on Saturday. The University institute headed by him was one of the partners of the festival and introduced itself to the audience with a new spot. Nearly 6,000 visitors were accredited to the AFO, which was held “live” again after two years of being online. They could choose from 250 programme items ranging from film screenings, lectures, workshops, concerts and exhibitions to activities for schools and families.
30 films from all over the world competed for the attention of the jury and the audience in the international competition. The jury also chose from 10 entries in the Czech-Slovak Competition and 17 entries in the Short Film Competition.
“I bow to all the authors for being able to communicate science to a wide audience in this way. They are doing it brilliantly and it is very necessary,” Banáš said during the ceremony where he presented the award for the winning film to the creators of The Mystery of Hydra.
The main prize of the International Competition goes to the documentary Understanding, in which the director Drew Xanthopoulos follows two female scientists who are researching whale communication. The Czech-Slovak competition has two award-winning films. Special mention goes to the short film Holoseč. The winner of the category is Ivo Bystřičan and his episode from the series Industrie, subtitled The Making of War.
The student jury awarded the documentary Carbon: an unauthorized biography. The prize for significant contribution to the popularisation of science went to Daniel Stach, a presenter of Czech Television.
“Thank you very much not only for myself, but on behalf of the whole team, without whom no broadcast could be made, whether it is the Hyde Park Civilization programme or anything that the science editorial team does. My thanks also go to the AFO – not only for the award, but primarily for helping people think, for giving them opportunities to delve more into the world of science, and for allowing them to look at the world differently through the eyes of science,” said Daniel Stach.
Lukáš Zdražil also took part in the festival programme. The PhD student, whose research was supported by the Palacký University Foundation Fund, presented himself together with other UP young and gifted researchers at the Science for Life – Young Scientists at UP lecture. He presented his junior student project focusing on the development of luminescent solar concentrators.
The International Festival of Popular Scientific Films Academia Film Olomouc (AFO) has been organised by Palacký University in Olomouc since 1966. The festival is one of the oldest Czech cinematography shows. According to the number of accredited spectators, it is one of the most visited film festivals in the Czech Republic. This year it took place in the Art Centre of the UP (Konvikt), the Metropol cinema, the Cyril and Methodius Theological Faculty, the Regional Museum in Olomouc, Fort Science, the Na cucky theatre, the Jazz Tibet Club and the Za()hrada community garden.
People who missed the festival in Olomouc can watch the best films online from Monday, May 2, as part of the AFO echoes on the DAFilms platform. More information is available at www.afo.cz.