Five Must-See Films at the 2016 Czech and Slovak Film Festival of Australia

The best of Czech and Slovak cinema will once again make its way to Melbourne as part of the fourth annual Czech and Slovak Film Festival of Australia. From Wednesday, September 14 through to the following Friday, an eclectic mix of classic and contemporary titles will light up the screen at ACMI, showcasing the unique, sometimes strange perspective of filmmakers from Bratislava to Prague.

This year's festival features nine new release films that will compete for a cash prize awarded by members of the Australian Film Critics Association. Features in competition include opening night horror film The Noonday Witch, big screen fairytale The Seven Ravens and the FIPRESCI prize-winning Eva Nova.

Completing these films is an intriguing selection of films from the 1960s, '70s and '80s. Of these, some of the most intriguing include the strange, pulpy, Little Shop of Horrors-inspired comedy Adele Hasn't Had Her Dinner Yet, and the seminal adaptation of Dobroslav Chrobák's novel Dragon's Return.

Below, check out our list of the five must-see films of this year's fest.

THE NOONDAY WITCH

This year's opening night film shapes up as an absolute cracker. Arriving in Melbourne straight from competition at the Czech Republic's prestigious Karlovy Vary Film Festival, The Noonday Witch is a unique horror film in that it takes place largely during the daytime. Jiří Sádek's feature film debut follows a mother and her young daughter as they relocate to a remote house in the countryside, only to find themselves haunted by a malevolent force from Czech folklore. The film has scored strong reviews, with many critics comparing it to the recent Australian spooker The Babadook.

EVA NOVA

The so-called First Lady of Slovak Theatre, veteran actor Emília Vášáryová stars in Eva Nova, the first fiction film from noted documentarian Marko Škop. Vášáryová plays Eva, a bitter, ageing, alcoholic screen star desperate to claw her way back into the limelight, while also hoping to reconcile with her estranged adult son. A grim but compassionate portrait of addiction and redemption, the film won a FIPRESCI prize at last year's Toronto International Film Festival, and stands out as a distinct dramatic highlight on this year's CaSFFA slate.

SCHMITKE

With a reputation brewing as the Czech Republic's answer to David Lynch's cult series Twin Peaks, the debut film of Štěpán Altrichter caught our attention right away. A deadpan comedy/mystery with a touch of the surreal, Schmitke follows a morose engineer sent to fix a noisy wind turbine near the Czech-German border. But odd things are afoot in the small town nearby, and soon our reluctant protagonist finds himself in the middle of something quite strange. One for fans of low-key humour and stories with more questions than answers.

LOST IN MUNICH

Chosen by Czech critics as the best film of last year, Lost in Munich is a bizarre political comedy that combines cheeky historical tinkering with a cautionary tale about the perils of movie-making itself. It begins when down-on-his luck journalist crosses paths with an elderly parrot, one who may or may not have belonged to former French President Édouard Daladier — a man despised in the Czech Republic for signing the 1938 Munich Agreement with Nazi Germany. That may sound weird enough already, but in truth it's just the tip of the iceberg. Petr Zelenka's film is a fascinating (and highly entertaining) closing night choice that needs to be seen to be fully comprehended.

ADELE HASN'T HAD HER DINNER YET

Crime, comedy and carnivorous plant life combine in this outlandish piece of late '70s pulp from filmmaker Oldřich Lipský. Michal Dočolomansky stars as a New York detective in Prague, who finds himself caught up in a case that gets stranger at every turn. An all-time cult classic of Czechoslovakian cinema complete with eye-popping animations from the legendary Jan Švankmajer, Adele Hasn't Had Her Dinner Yet recently underwent a digital restoration at the Czech National Film Archive, and will be presented at CaSFFA in all its newfound glory.

CaSFFA will run from Wednesday, September 14 until Sunday, September 25. For the full program, visit casffa.com.au.

Disclaimer: Tom will serve as an AFCA jury member at this year's CaSFFA.