Broken Voices

A gripping drama inspired by the Bambini di Praga scandal that shook Czechia at the turn of the century, “Broken Voices” follows 13-year-old Karolína as her dream of singing in a world-renowned choir comes true – only to reveal the disturbing price of being singled out. 

In the early 1990s Czech Republic, Karolína, 13, is thrilled when she earns a place in an elite girls’ choir alongside her older sister Lucie. Her voice soon ignites the interest of the admired and enigmatic choirmaster, Vit. His attention feels like a triumph – until she begins to understand the unsettling price of that privilege.

Delicately crafted by Ondřej Provazník and anchored by a remarkable debut from Kateřina Falbrová, “Broken Voices” is a deeply affecting study of institutional power, complicity, and the combustible mix of admiration, authority, and abuse. Based on real events, this haunting story won the Europa Cinemas Label for Best European Film at the Karlovy Vary IFF and a Special Jury Mention for Falbrová’s outstanding performance.

Programme section: Opening Film / Cinema Current
Original title: Sbormistr | Year: 2025 | Duration: 106′
Country: Czechia, Slovakia | Language: Czech, English | Subtitles: English
Director: Ondřej Provazník | Production: Jiří Konečný – Endorfilm, Ivan Ostrochovský – Punkchart films; Česká televize, Innogy, Barrandov Studio | Cast: Kateřina Falbrová, Juraj Loj, Maya Kintera, Zuzana Šulajová, Marek Cisovský | Screenplay: Ondřej Provazník | Cinematography: Lukáš Milota | Editing: Anna Johnson Ryndová

FESTIVALS & AWARDS (SELECTION) 

Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, 2025 – Europa Cinemas Label Award for Best European Film, Special Jury Mention (Best Actress) | CineFest, Miskolc International Film Festival, 2025

DIRECTOR’S BIO 

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. “Broken Voices” (2025) is his second feature film and solo debut.

DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT

One aspect of sexual abuse cases that has long been kept silent and subsequently come to light is society’s suspicion of victims who decide to speak up. Frequently, even the victim’s close friends and relatives attack their veracity, memory and integrity and, more generally, their decision to dredge up the distant past. Few can imagine the complexity of the relationship between victim and aggressor. The traumatic nature and fragility of the former’s experience and decision to testify. The conflicting emotions they feel toward the culprit. My aim is to gradually draw the viewer closer to the victim’s ordeal in our film – in a non-schematic manner, cinematically, through all the highs and lows of such experiences. As credibly and authentically as possible.