Night Owls

After her boyfriend unexpectedly breaks up with her because he's been dating her best friend, 19-year old Ofka is left to wonder what really matters in life.  Wrapped up in her own problems, she takes no notice of the love her closest male friend, Ubr, has for her.  Ofka works night shifts at a 24-hour convenience store in modern-day Prague, which inevitably brings her in contact with many unique characters who, like her, are awake when the rest of the city sleeps.  Even these odd experiences, though, don't seem to move her in any way until, one night, the shop is robbed.  This assault shakes Ofka out of her self-absorbed lethargy and makes her take a fresh look at the world around her. A film about love, the tenderness of friendship, and hope.

About the Director:

Visual artist, film director and animator Michaela Pavlátová graduated from the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design Prague in 1987. Her animation films have been awarded many prestigious international prizes. In 1993 her short animated film Words, words, words was nominated for an Oscar with, and in 1995 another of her animated films, Repete, won the Golden Bear award in the short film category at Berlin International Film Festival. In 2000, she came out with her first live action film Absolute Love, one of four shorts which made up the episodic film Prague Story.
In 2001, she attracted lots of attention with her documentary On Grandmother. In 2003 she finished her film Faithless Games for which she was awarded a special jury prize at the San Sebastian International Film Festival. Her last animated film, The Carnival of Animals won the Grand Prix at the International Festival of Animated Films in Třeboň and a Grand Prix in Espinho, Portugal. Michaela Pavlátová also teaches at the Prague film school FAMU as well as the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design Prague.