Czech Radio’ Sci-fi Drama Pescho Wins the International Grand Prix Nova Award
Petr Mančal, a director working with Czech Radio, has received the Grand Prix Nova award in Bucharest for his radio play, Pescho. Written by scriptwriter Marek Epstein, this sci-fi drama takes place in the near future. The award is yet another of Czech Radio’s great successes achieved in an international competition.
“I am incredibly happy. I am truly and outrageously happy, because after a very long time we won in a competition with dramas of up to one hour in length at such a prestigious festival. And this is really a very difficult category,” said director Petr Mančal.
He believes that the play emerged victorious from such a fierce competition because all of its components – the dramaturgy, sound, directing and acting – were set in a well-functioning frame. The drama is set in the year 2055, and it revolves around the problem of water scarcity. That’s when the Pescho corporation comes in, using the situation to its advantage because it holds the key to sustained life – an industrial water substitute. For more information on the competition go to Grand Prix Nova’s website, and more details on the radio play are available on Czech Radio’s website.
“The text was extremely difficult in terms of adaptation and production, which makes Mančal’s directing approach all the more valuable. This award is yet another important international achievement for Czech Radio in the past two years,“ said, Peter Duhan, Czech Radio’s Director General.
Czech Radio’s representatives regularly take home awards from international festivals. For example, Czech Radio garnered two prizes from the 19th edition of the Prix Marulić international radio competition 2015 held on the Croatian island of Hvar. In the short format category, the second prize went to “Řidič vozu smrti” (Driver of the Death Car), and “Pro patria mori” took third place. The docudrama “Řidič vozu smrti” (Driver of the Death Car) was also directed by Petr Mančal.
Jiří Hošna
Spokesperson
Tel.: +420 725 793 397
E-mail: jiri.hosna@rozhlas.cz